Fire burns on oil platform in Gulf of Mexico

Published 10:23 am Thursday, January 5, 2017

The Coast Guard and crew members of surrounding vessels were responding to a pre-dawn fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, authorities said Thursday morning.

The blaze was reported around 2:30 a.m. on the platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

There were no reports of injuries.

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“There are no current reports of any pollution at the moment,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Travis Magee told The Associated Press by phone from New Orleans.

Four people aboard the platform evacuated into the water and were rescued by the crew of the 130-foot Mary Wyatt Milano, a supply vessel, the Coast Guard said.

Crew members aboard that boat and three other vessels were battling the blaze.

The fire was “suppressed but not extinguished,” Magee said.

An HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane from Mobile, Alabama, had also just arrived at the scene, Magee said.

“They’re overhead and they’re getting a better view of the situation,” Magee said. “They’re assessing the current situation — that’s their role.”