White House responds to new Gulf Oil explosion
(NECN/CNN) - Federal officials are learning more about today's new oil rig explosion off the Louisiana coast. A large fire broke out on a rig about 100 miles off shore.
"We will continue to gather information as we respond," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. "We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water."
He said President Obama was in a national security meeting, and he did not know if the president is aware of the news yet or not.
The rig's owner, Mariner Energy, reports that all 13 of the rig's crew members were able to escape safely. They were all found floating in the water wearing "gumby suits" that stick close together.
Coast Guard commander Cheri Ben-Iesau says all crew members were airlifted to the hospital, and one person was injured, though Mariner Energy says there were no injuries.
While the Coast Guard initially reported an explosion on the platform, Mariner Energy says it was a fire. The company also says that the platform wasn't involved in any drilling operations at the time, and it doesn't look like anything has spilled so far.
Tags: barack Obama, White House, Fire, Robert Gibbs, oil spill, Gulf Coast , oil rig explosion
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