Coast Guard: 2 Workers Injured in Fire on Oil Platform off Louisiana Coast

Two workers were injured when a fire broke out on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Lexie Preston said 46 workers were evacuated from Shell International Ltd.’s Enchilada platform after the fire broke out around 2 a.m. The platform is about 185 miles (298 kilometers) southwest of New Orleans.

The two injured workers were flown by helicopter to a hospital, according to Preston and Shell spokesman Philip Robinson. The extent of their injuries wasn’t immediately released. Robinson said their families have been notified.

Robinson said all of the workers who were aboard the platform were safely evacuated to a nearby vessel or another Shell-operated platform in the area.

Shell said in a statement that its platform was safely shut down. Shell and Preston said there were no immediate reports of oil pollution in the area.

Shell said it will investigate the cause of the “operational incident.”

“No harm to people or the environment is ever acceptable and Shell deeply regrets that this incident occurred,” the company’s statement says.