Two Rescued From Burning, Non-Producing Oil Platform In US Gulf

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)–The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two men from a burning Gulf of Mexico oil platform on Sunday.

The platform, owned by Houston-based Arena Energy LLC., is located about 50 miles off Grand Isle, La.

The privately held company said it was not producing when the fire broke out Sunday morning, but federal offshore energy regulators are en route to the facility to ensure that status and investigate the accident’s cause, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

Arena-hired firefighters have reportedly extinguished the blaze and remain on site to watch the facility should the fire re-ignite, the Coast Guard said. Federal officials have established a 1,000-yard security zone around the platform and have restricted flights for five nautical miles around and 5,000 feet above the site.

The two rescued men, whose names were not provided and who were the only people aboard the platform when the fire started, have been taken to the West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, La., the Coast Guard said.

The men escaped from the burning platform on a life capsule and were pulled from the water by a vessel that was passing by. They were then hoisted from that boat on to a Coast Guard helicopter and taken ashore. Injuries were not disclosed.

-By Ryan Dezember, Dow Jones Newswires