Coast Guard: Fire burns on oil platform in Gulf of Mexico

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The Coast Guard and crew members of surrounding vessels are responding to a pre-dawn fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, the Coast Guard said early Thursday.

The blaze was reported around 2:30 a.m. on an oil platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle, Louisiana, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

Four people aboard the platform evacuated into the water and were rescued by the Mary Wyatt Milano, a supply vessel, the Coast Guard said. No injuries have been reported.

Personnel aboard four vessels are fighting the fire.

Crew members aboard the 130-foot Mary Wyatt Milano are among those battling the blaze, Coast Guard officials said.

Clean Gulf, an oil spill response organization, was on its way to the platform early Thursday, the Coast Guard added in its statement. Clean Gulf is a non-profit oil industry cooperative that responds to spills and provides equipment to help clean them up, according to its website.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

An oil platform exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, killing 11 workers. Millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf for weeks before the oil well could be capped.