Blast destroys drill rig, 5 missing

QUINTON, Okla. — Five people are missing after a fiery explosion ripped through an eastern Oklahoma drilling rig on Monday, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled on the ground, emergency officials said.

More than 20 employees were at the natural gas well site when the blast was reported around 8:45 a.m., Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris said. Aerial footage showed several fires were still burning by midday on the rig and other equipment; the derrick, a towering metal structure above the well, collapsed to the ground.

Emergency crews were pulled away after other explosions at the site, where several tanks were located, said Emergency Management Director Kevin Enloe.

The explosion occurred west of the town of Quinton, about 100 miles southeast of Tulsa. Enloe said firefighters let the blaze burn and did not put water on it to keep from spreading possible hazardous materials at the site.

Enloe said about 17 workers were pulled from the site following the blast, including one who suffered minor burns and was treated at the scene. He said crews were searching the surrounding woods to see if anyone had fled into the area.

“Most everybody was taken off the site and taken to a secure site here in Quinton,” said Morris, the sheriff. He said workers were “pretty shook up.”

Confirmation of any fatalities won’t be possible until the fire is extinguished and investigators can get to the scene of the explosion, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma medical examiner’s office.

“I pray there’s not, but we just don’t know yet,” Elliott said.