325px|Map highlighting location of Deepwater well and Vermillion 380 platform. An oil platform owned by Mariner Energy has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico throwing thirteen people into the water, reports indicate. All thirteen men who fell into the water have been accounted for, according to the U. S. Coast Guard. No injuries were reported. Smoke was billowing from the oil rig named Vermilion 380, which is reported to still be on fire. The blast occurred at around 9:19 a.m., approximately 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay off the coast of Louisiana. The Coast Guard confirms the platform was producing oil and gas at the time it exploded. They earlier reported a one mile long and 100 foot wide oil sheen which was spotted at the site of the explosion shortly after authorities responded to the scene, but later backtracked saying they could not confirm the presence of a sheen. Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards of the US Coast Guard earlier said that the platform, "was not actively producing any product." Mariner Energy also released a statement earlier saying no oil sheen was spotted. As a result of the explosion and fire, Bobby Jindal , the governor for the state of Louisiana said that the Vermillion 380 platform had been "shut" and that oil flowing from the bottom of the Gulf has been stopped. At least 6 other platforms are said to be connected to the well that Vermilion 380 was part of. Jindal also said the fire was burning due to flammable materials on the platform. Apache Corporation , which has agreed to, but has not yet completed a merger with Mariner Energy, did not comment on whether the explosion would have any effect on the deal. The vice-president Bob Dye told Wikinews that "Apache and Mariner agreed to merge in April, 2010, however, the transaction has not yet closed so Mariner remains the operator of this platform". All 13 people have been rescued by an oil support vessel and have been transported to a nearby platform. Edwards earlier told MSNBC that all those who were in the water were "wearing some sort of an immersion suit that protects them from the water. Right now we're focused on search and rescue and then, ultimately, as this thing progresses we're going to be looking into the cause." The explosion comes only four months after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig run by BP exploded in April, resulting in a massive oil spill . The platform is located about 200 miles west of the Deepwater incident.
325px|Map highlighting location of Deepwater well and Vermillion 380 platform. An oil platform owned by has exploded in the throwing thirteen people into the water, reports indicate. All thirteen men who fell into the water have been accounted for, according to the . No injuries were reported. Smoke was billowing from the oil rig named Vermilion 380, which is reported to still be on fire. The blast occurred at around 9:19 a.m., approximately 80 miles south of off the coast of Louisiana. The Coast Guard confirms the platform was producing oil and gas at the time it exploded. They earlier reported a one mile long and 100 foot wide oil sheen which was spotted at the site of the explosion shortly after authorities responded to the scene, but later backtracked saying they could not confirm the presence of a sheen. Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards of the US Coast Guard earlier said that the platform, "was not actively producing any product." Mariner Energy also released a statement earlier saying no oil sheen was spotted. As a result of the explosion and fire, , the governor for the state of Louisiana said that the Vermillion 380 platform had been "shut" and that oil flowing from the bottom of the Gulf has been stopped. At least 6 other platforms are said to be connected to the well that Vermilion 380 was part of. Jindal also said the fire was burning due to flammable materials on the platform. , which has agreed to, but has not yet completed a merger with Mariner Energy, did not comment on whether the explosion would have any effect on the deal. The vice-president Bob Dye told Wikinews that "Apache and Mariner agreed to merge in April, 2010, however, the transaction has not yet closed so Mariner remains the operator of this platform". All 13 people have been rescued by an oil support vessel and have been transported to a nearby platform. Edwards earlier told that all those who were in the water were "wearing some sort of an immersion suit that protects them from the water. Right now we're focused on search and rescue and then, ultimately, as this thing progresses we're going to be looking into the cause." The explosion comes only four months after the oil rig run by in April, resulting in a massive . The platform is located about 200 miles west of the Deepwater incident.
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U. S. Coast Guard.
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