At least 11 people were missing and seven others were critically injured after an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Coast Guard said Wednesday.
The explosion took place at about 11 pm Tuesday (0300 GMT Wednesday) on an oil rig about 84 kilometres southeast of Venice, Louisiana, dpa reported.
The Coast Guard said that about 126 people on board the rig managed to get off it safely. Several people were hospitalized.
The Coast Guard said it sent helicopters from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, to help evacuate people from the rig and look for the missing.
"A substantial majority of the 126-member crew is safe, but some crew members remain unaccounted for at this time," the company that owns the rig, Transocean Ltd, told CNN.