Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Coast Guard joins firefight effort at platform explosion and fire at Bayou Sorrel






Coast Guard joins firefight effort at platform explosion and fire; see video here

March 15, 2016 in Top Story
Source: WBRZ
By: Trey Schmaltz
Share:



BAYOU SORREL - The Coast Guard joined the fire fight at an oil production platform deep in the swamp Tuesday.

WBRZ.com was first to report details of the fire earlier in the day. The platform exploded while crews were in the process of dismantling the facility. One storage tank was on fire, and crews were letting it burn itself out. The platform holds a maximum potential of 420,000 gallons of crude oil.


Two people were aboard the platform when the tank ignited and burst into flames, both were able to escape without injury the Coast Guard said in a news release around lunchtime Tuesday.

The platform is on Berry Lake west of Bayou Richard. Emergency responders had to launch boats at Jack Miller's Landing to get to the fire.

There will be an investigation once the fire is extinguished.

*****************

Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz