The tug and barges hit the pipeline at about 12:30pm in West Cote Blanche Bay, about 3km from the Louisiana shore near Morgan City, and about 160km SW of New Orleans, according to Petty Officer 2nd Class Nyx Cangemi. The tug had two people on it, and six people were on the barge, PO Cangemi said. Coast Guard rescue crews recovered three bodies and two survivors. Three people remained missing. One survivor was severely burned and taken to a hospital, while the other was uninjured.
Gulfport Energy Corp. said the accident involved two contracted vessels doing work for the company in a large energy field. The company said that all its employees were accounted for, but that it was still trying to get information on its contract workers. “We are deeply concerned for all those involved,” Gulfport CEO Jim Palm said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team of five investigators to the scene of a fire, and reports its preliminary finding that piling dropped from one of the barges and struck the high-pressure gas pipeline, causing the line to rupture and catch fire.