Explosion on Mariner Energy oil rig in Gulf of Mexico

All 13 rig workers were rescued from ocean near the burning platform

An explosion has torn through an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the blast in April that caused a huge oil spill.

All 13 crew on the rig escaped into the water and were later rescued.
The US Coast Guard said that a blaze that burned for hours after the explosion has now been extinguished.
Officials said there was no evidence of an oil leak, despite earlier reports of a mile-long sheen.

The explosion was first reported at 0930 local time (1330 GMT).

"The fire is out, and Coast Guard helicopters on scene and vessels on scene have no reports of a visible sheen in the water," Capt Peter Troedsson told a news conference in New Orleans.
"There's no report or an evidence of leaks, but we continue to investigate and to monitor that situation to make sure that that doesn't change," he added.
The owners of the platform, Mariner Energy, said it was undergoing maintenance and not producing any oil or gas at the time of the explosion.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two planes, and three boats were sent to the site, about 130km (80 miles) south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
'Presence of mind'
All 13 workers who jumped into the Gulf from the platform had been accounted for and transported to another platform by an oil support vessel, the Coast Guard said.
The workers "had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits [survival suits] before they entered the water," said Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards.

The rig was in flames for several hours before crews managed to control the blaze

The blaze started on an upper deck of the platform where living quarters were, a company official said.
The federal government had earlier said that it would respond if there were reports of pollution.
The explosion comes more than four months after a blast ripped through the Deepwater Horizon oil rig leased by BP, causing about hundreds of million gallons of oil to be released into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mariner platform is located in shallow water, approximately 340ft (105m) above the floor of the Gulf. Officials stressed if oil were to leak, the response would be much easier than in the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the company had told him the seven active wells under production by the platform were shut down shortly after the fire broke out.
(BBC News-US &Canada)