An oil rig in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana (north of New Orleans) exploded Sunday night leaving several people critically injured, five of whom were taken to the University Medical Center, and two who were taken to East Jefferson General Hospital. The Sheriff’s office still believes one person is missing and is treating it as a search and rescue. Thankfully, no one has died.
Rescue boats were sent from the Kenner Boat Launch to help and the New Orleans Coast Guard also had a small boat and helicopter responding to the scene.
“Jefferson Parish officials say there were cleaning chemicals aboard the platform but do not know the exact cause of the fire at this time…”1
The rig is apparently a production platform owned by Clovelly Oil Co.
The Coast Guard plans to conduct a water quality evaluation at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.
