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Oil Tanker Barge Explodes in Louisiana
Source: Environment News Service (ENS)
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (ENS) - The body of a welder aboard a barge that exploded and caught fire Saturday near Venice, Louisiana was recovered Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The tank barge, carrying about 17,000 gallons of crude oil, burst into flames during a welding operation. One man was killed, another was injured, and an unknown amount of crude oil spilled into the water.
A rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Pompano, pollution and accident investigation teams from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, and the Plaquemines Parish fire boatcrew Authority One responded.
The Coast Guard medevaced the injured man to Baton Rouge by helicopter. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Coast Guard Lt. Com. Cheri Ben-Iesau confirmed that a slick of oil was spilled, but it burned off and left no pollution, she said.
The barge was moored with a crane barge, which caught fire and was destroyed. It took more than four hours to put out the fire on the tank barge, said the Coast Guard.
Both barges were owned by Forest Oil Corp. of Lafayette, Louisiana, which is cooperating with state officials and the Coast Guard in investigating the accident.
Forest is a $3 billion publicly traded company that ranks as one of the largest independent exploration and production companies in the United States.
Forest's principal reserves and producing properties are located in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming and Alaska, and in Canada.
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