Search Suspended for Worker Missing in US Oil Platform Blast
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a worker missing from an oil production platform in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain that exploded and caught fire late on Sunday. Missing is Timothy Morrison, 44, of Katy, Texas, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Seven other workers were sent to hospital with injuries in the incident. "The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one," Commander Zac Ford said in the statement.
Update: Worker Missing after Oil Platform Explosion
The search continued for a worker missing from an oil production platform in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain that exploded and caught fire late Sunday, sending six others to hospital with injuries, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Coast Guard rescue crews and a helicopter failed to locate the worker overnight, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Alexandria Preston. In addition, authorities on Monday were checking for any evidence of oil leaking from the facility, she said.
Coast Guard Responds to Oil Platform Blast
The U.S. Coast Guard is coordinating search efforts for a missing man after an explosion on an oil platform in Lake Pontchartrain near Kenner, La., Sunday evening. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report from a witness at approximately 8 p.m. of an oil platform explosion. The cause of the incident is unknown. It was reported by one of the platform workers that eight people were aboard at the time of the explosion, and one person did not make it to shore.
Oil Rises as Kirkuk-Iraqi Fighting Escalates
Iraq forces move into oil-rich, Kurdish-held Kirkuk. Oil markets jumped on Monday as Iraqi forces entered the oil city of Kirkuk, taking territory from Kurdish fighters and raising concerns over exports from OPEC's second-largest producer. Iraq launched the operation in the multi-ethnic region on Sunday as the crisis between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) escalated. Tensions have been building since the KRG voted for independence in a Sept. 25 referendum.
T/S Nate Kills 22 in Central America, Bears Down on U.S. GoM
Tropical Storm Nate killed at least 22 people in Central America on Thursday as it pummeled the region with heavy rain while heading toward Mexico's Caribbean resorts and the U.S. Gulf Coast, where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend. In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country's vice president Rosario Murillo.
