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44 evacuated after rig blows out in Gulf of Mexico

Posted at 7:54 PM, Jul 23, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-23 19:54:00-04
By Joe Sutton

(CNN) — Forty-four workers were evacuated from a natural gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday after a blowout occurred, according to officials.

Crew members aboard the Hercules 265 were preparing the well for production when they hit an unexpected pocket of gas.

No injuries were reported.

Officials had said earlier that 47 workers were evacuated.

While gas is flowing from the well, “no oil is being released,” according to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

The platform, about 60 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana, is leased by Houston-based Walter Oil & Gas Corporation. The company did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment Tuesday.

A light sheen about a half-mile wide was spotted by environmental inspectors, but was “dissipating almost immediately,” the safety bureau said.

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