Republished November 08, 2017 - 11:04 AM
Original Publication Date November 08, 2017 - 7:31 AM
LAFAYETTE, La. - Two workers were injured when a fire broke out on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that 46 workers were evacuated from Shell International Ltd.'s Enchilada platform to a lifeboat after the fire broke out around 1:20 a.m. The platform is about 185 miles (298 kilometres) southwest of New Orleans.
The two injured workers were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Galveston, Texas. A 54-year-old man had burns and a concussion and a 29-year-old man had a sprained wrist and a concussion, the Coast Guard said.
A "light sheen" was spotted in the water north of the platform after the fire started, according to the Coast Guard.
Shell spokesman Philip Robinson said all of the workers who were aboard the platform were safely evacuated to a nearby vessel or another Shell-operated platform in the area.
Shell said in a statement that its platform was safely shut down.
"No harm to people or the environment is ever acceptable and Shell deeply regrets that this incident occurred," the company's statement says.
By noon, the fire had been reduced to a small flame coming from a pipe on the platform, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard and U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement were investigating the cause of the incident.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017