Oil Rig Explosion Kills 4 in Gulf of Mexico, No Spill Reported
— -- An explosion and ensuing fire on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico today left four dead and injured 45 others, according to the Pemex oil company.
Pemex, a Mexican state-run oil company, said 300 workers have been evacuated after the fire broke out on their Abkatun Permanente platform.
Pemex said in a statement tonight that no spill occurred. "The fire that broke today at the Abkatun processing platform in Campeche did not cause an oil spill in the sea. Authorities only registered a runoff, which is being contained by specialised vessels," Pemex said.
Among those killed was a contractor for the Mexican oil services company, Cotemar, according to Pemex. Employees who escaped told the Associated Press some people were forced to jump into the shallow waters to escape the blaze.
"There was nothing you could do but run," Roger Arias Sanchez, an employee of Pemex contractor Cotemar told the AP.
Currently, there are eight fireboats fighting the blaze, according to Pemex. Fleets of helicopters ferried workers from the oil rig to the town of Ciudad del Carmen, according to the AP.
It is unclear how much fuel might have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the incident.
The Pemex company has dealt with multiple deadly accidents in recent years, including a 2013 blast at the company headquarters that killed 37 people.
In 2012, a fire at a natural gas facility killed 26.
