US oil rig ablaze in Gulf of Mexico, two dead: report

November 17, 2012 00:47

An oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast caught fire today killing at least two people, local television reported, citing the Coast Guard and local officials.

According to KHOU-TV four more people were airlifted to hospital -- two of them in critical condition -- and two more are missing following the disaster on a rig operated by Houston-based Black Elk Energy.

The explosion comes a day after BP reached a deal with the US government to settle criminal charges over the devastating 2010 oil spill which began with an explosion on an offshore rig.

There was no immediate news on whether any oil was spilling from the burning platform, which is in relatively shallow water about 40 kilometres south of the beach town of Grand Isle.

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