Submitted by Fox First at Ten on November 16th
By STEPHEN BRAUNAssociated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal official says a team of environmental enforcement inspectors is flying to the scene of an oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico following reports of an explosion on the rig earlier Friday.
David Smith, a spokesman for the Interior Department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, said the team was dispatched from a Gulf Coast base by helicopter soon after the U.S. Coast Guard was notified of the emergency. Smith said the team would scan for any evidence of oil spilling and investigate the cause of the explosion.
Coast Guard officials say two people are missing and four others were taken to hospitals after the explosion at a platform 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, La. The platform is owned by Black Elk Energy.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
