Oil platform explodes off La. coast; crew rescued
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday, the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. This time, the Coast Guard said there was no leak, and no one was killed.
The Coast Guard initially reported that an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the blast, about 200 miles west of the source of BP's massive spill. But hours later, Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said crews were unable to find any spill.
The company that owns the platform, Houston-based Mariner Energy, did not know what caused the fire. Mariner Energy's Patrick Cassidy said he considered the incident a fire, not an explosion.
"The platform is still intact and it was just a small portion of the platform that appears to be burned," he said.
Earl weaker, still powerful, winds hit Outer Banks
MIAMI (AP) — Forecasters say Hurricane Earl is weakening as it passes over North Carolina's Outer Banks but is still packing powerful winds as it heads up the Eastern Seaboard.
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