Greg Toppo

USA TODAY

At least seven people were injured when a large explosion on an oil rig operating in Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain ignited a fire Sunday evening, authorities said. Smoke and fire were visible from the shore.

According to The (New Orleans) Advocate, citing Jefferson Parish officials, there were seven people aboard the platform. The injured were take to New Orleans, with five people taken to the University Medical Center and two others taken to East Jefferson General Hospital.

EMS officials said the five taken to University Medical Center were being treated for blast-type injuries and burns and were in critical condition. The two taken to East Jefferson were in stable condition, the Advocate reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard told the Advocate one man on the rig was not able to make it to shore after the explosion, and rescuers were searching for him.

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.

Officials with St. Charles Parish, located northwest of New Orleans, tweeted that the rig was “currently on fire” late Sunday. Witnesses said they heard a large explosion around 7:45 p.m. CT.

Authorities in Jefferson Parish, La., said police from Kenner and the Coast Guard were working the explosion, located near the Treasure Chest Casino on the southwest shore of the lake.

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

WWL-TV reported that the Coast Guard had a small boat and helicopter responding to the scene. Several witnesses told the TV station they heard a large boom and that their houses shook following the incident.

On social media, local residents reported hearing the explosion. One man, Roger Fernandez, uploaded a live video of the fire to Facebook, during which he said the explosion "shook me out of my couch."

The Advocate reported that Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts cited Facebook posts claiming that flying parts from the explosion had hit homes in Kenner.

Patrick Courreges at the Department of Natural Resources confirmed the owner of the platform is Clovelly Oil Co., based on Poydras Street in New Orleans.

The platform, about a mile and a half from the Kenner Boat Launch in Jefferson Parish, 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, but noted that Jefferson Parish drinking water will remain safe because it is pulled from the Mississippi River.

Contributing: WWL-TV, New Orleans, and The Associated Press. Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo



