Burning oil rig off Louisiana has sunk
14:55, 23 April 2010
HOUSTON. April 23. KAZINFORM An oil drilling rig that was burning in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast sank on Thursday as rescuers continued searching for 11 missing workers, Transocean Ltd said; Kazinform refers to China Daily.
The Deepwater Horizon went below the surface of the water - it was unclear whether it went to the bottom in several thousand feet of water - at 10:21 a.m. CDT (1521 GMT). The Coast Guard said private interests reported that the fire was extinguished.
The rig was drilling for BP Plc with 126 workers on board when it was ripped by explosion and fire about 10 p.m. CDT Tuesday. Some 115 workers escaped, including 17 helicoptered to New Orleans area hospitals with injuries.
The search continued on Thursday for the 11 workers missing since the initial blast. Officials said they have not given up hope of finding the missing workers alive, carried from the scene by ocean currents; Kazinform cites China Daily.