18 killed after accident in Mexico's Gulf oil fields

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18 killed after accident in Mexico's Gulf oil fields

Updated: October 24, 2007 - 10:50 PM

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MEXICO CITY - At least 18 people were killed when a drilling rig hit an oil platform during a storm, spilling gas and oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the state-owned oil company said Wednesday.

Rescuers had pulled 61 workers from storm-tossed waters but had yet to control the leak, Mexico's oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said in a news release.

The workers killed were four Pemex employees, seven employees of the subcontractor that operated the rig, one rescue boat crew member and six others who worked for other companies, Pemex said. One woman was among the dead.

The search continued for seven missing workers.

Pemex said it would take three to five days to control the leak caused by Tuesday's accident but noted that it mainly involved gas. "The spill of crude oil into the sea has been less than originally thought," the company said.

It was unclear whether the missing workers were in the sea or in life rafts. The Mexican navy sent eight helicopters and four boats to help in the rescue effort.

The mobile drilling rig hit the oil platform on Tuesday amid 25-foot waves and winds gusting to 80 miles per hour.

It had been preparing to drill close to the platform when the accident happened about 20 miles offshore from the port of Dos Bocas in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.

The storm forced Mexico's main oil ports to close.

ASSOCIATED PRESS