Coast Guard searches for 2 after Gulf rig fire

Posted: Sat 7:02 AM, Nov 17, 2012

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Coast Guard is searching for two workers missing after a fire erupted on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

It sent an ominous black plume of smoke into the air reminiscent of the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that transformed the oil industry and life along the coast.

Friday's blaze started on a rig southeast of Grand Isle, La., while workers were using a torch to cut an oil line. At least four workers were critically injured and being treated at the burn center at Baton Rouge General Medical Center.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Bobby Nash said late Friday that a Coast Guard cutter would continue its search into the night. A broader rescue effort resumes after daybreak Saturday.

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