La. oil rig blast injures several

An oil rig exploded late Sunday on Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, leaving at least six people injured and another missing, authorities said.

Kenner Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian McGregor said Sunday evening that rescue boats were being sent from the Kenner Boat Launch, and that officials with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office are assisting, The Times-Picayune reported .

There were “a lot of injuries,” many of them serious, with at least seven confirmed and more expected, McGregor said.

Initial reports said six people were injured and one person was missing. Five of the injured were taken to University Medical Center with “blast type injuries and burns” and are in critical condition, said Mike Guillot, director of East Jefferson Emergency Medical Services. The other two are in stable condition at East Jefferson General Hospital.

Search and rescue efforts were continuing as of Sunday night. No deaths have been reported.

Reports came into the Emergency Operations center around 7:15 p.m. of fire and smoke being seen from Lake Pontchartrain, Jefferson Parish spokesman Antwan Harris said in a news release Sunday.

“Several people have been rescued from the active fire on the rig,” he said.

“Authorities on the scene report that cleaning chemicals ignited on the surface of the oil rig platform,” the city of Kenner posted on its Facebook page Sunday.

Clovelly Oil Co. owns the platform that is in production, said Taylor Darden, a lawyer for the company.

The platform is used for the transfer of oil, said Chief David Tibbets of the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department. He said the department’s current goal is to stop oil flow and, if needed, let it burn off safely.

Authorities acknowledged there was a possibility that the fire meant oil could be leaking into the lake.

Social media users reported hearing a loud noise that rattled some homes. Andrew Love, 32, told the newspaper that he was inside his house about 10 blocks away when he heard the explosion.

“My house actually shook,” he said. “At first I thought it was a sonic boom or something, I had no idea what was happening.”