Deepwater Horizon: 11 Workers Missing, Survivors Reach Shore

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Oil Rig Fire Incident: U.S. Coast Guard, Getty Images News | Photo 02

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Eleven People Still Missing After The Explosion At Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Off The Coast Of Louisiana In Mexican Gulf Late Tuesday, As Explosion Survivors Reach Shore

Transocean, the operator of the affected rig, announced yesterday that a substantial majority of the 126 member crew is safe but some crew members remain unaccounted for at this time. A rescue effort was launched yesterday, involving helicopters, planes and cutters. It was declared that the rescue effort would be carried into the night, if necessary. 

• Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Fire: 11 Workers Still Unaccounted For
• Transocean Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Blast: Crew Missing, Video

This morning, the search has resumed. It is reported the Coast Guard has surveyed 1,940 square miles in a series of 17 separate air and sea search missions since the Tuesday explosion. But, the hopes of finding the missing workers alive are running low. The vice president of Transocean said the missing workers would not have had a lot of time to evacuate because the accident unfolded very rapidly.

Meanwhile, the first 98 workers who have survived the blast arrived on shore early Thursday and were reunited with their families. The rescued workers were taken by boat late Wednesday to Port Fourchon in Louisiana, and then to a hotel, where family members were waiting. Some of the experienced workers who survived the blast say the explosion was of the scale that they have never seen before.

At 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, an explosion rocked the Deepwater Horizon rig, resulting in fire that caused personnel to evacuate immediately. Seventeen people have been injured in the incident and taken to hospital, four are in critical condition. Firefighters were still battling the fire on Wednesday night. BBC is reporting that the rig is in danger of toppling over after starting to tilt. The cause of the explosion remains unknown. The environmental damage will be assessed after the operation to rescue the missing workers is over, and the fire is extinguished.

The Deepwater Horizon is a semi-submersible drilling unit built in 2001 capable of operating in harsh environments and water depths up to 8,000 ft.