2 people still missing following platform fire in Gulf of Mexico

The search continues for the two crewmembers missing since Friday's platform fire 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans said Saturday morning. The search continued through the night with the initial responding Coast Guard Cutter Razorbill getting relieved around 4 a.m. by the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Pelican.

An aerial search is being led by an MH-Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama as well as an HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft crew from the center and two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from the Coast Guard's Air Station New Orleans hub.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Lally, said Friday that no more information would be released until they suspended their search and that the Coast Guard would continue to look for the missing crewmembers "until we've exhausted all resources trying to locate these personnel."

Twenty-two workers were on the platform when the blaze erupted shortly before 9 a.m. Friday morning, according to Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski, chief of the Coast Guard response division in New Orleans. Eleven of those were transported to four area hospitals. Nine others were evacuated from the platform uninjured, and two remain missing, he said. There have been no reported deaths at this time.

Four of the injured workers, who suffered extensive burns, were taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero and later transferred to the Burn Center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.The extent of their burns and their condition is still not known at this time.

Four others were transported to Lady of the Sea Hospital in Galliano, according to officials in Jefferson Parish. Their conditions were reported as stable.

Source: http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2012/11/2_people_still_missing_followi.html

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