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Pemex rig collision death toll hits 18



By Tom Liskey 

Mexico's state-owned producer Pemex has said the death toll from Tuesday’s jack-up rig collision with a light platform has risen to 18.

Perforadora Central's 200 foot mat cantilever jack-up rig Usumacinta crashed into the Kab 101 production platform as a storm packing 130-kilometre winds and eight-metre high waves lashed the Gulf of Mexico

President Felipe Calderon issued a statement to the victims’ families, offering "sincere condolences and solidarity in this moment of pain".

Pemex said seven workers are still missing at sea, although 61 have been rescued. The accident happened about 75 kilometres off Ciudad del Carmen.

The death toll includes at least one crew member from the firefighting vessel Morrison Tide. The vessel was dispatched to the damaged rig after high waves and winds tossed the Usumacinta into a well protector on the Kab oilfield, causing a hydrocarbon leak.

Perforadora Central is the Mexican company under contract with Pemex to drill in the Bay of Campeche.

The Morrison Tide is a fire fighting class 1 vessel built at Batamec Shipyard, Indonesia and originally delivered to New Orleans-based Tidewater in 2005, according to the American Bureau of Shipping. The vessel is operated by Tidewater's Mexican unit.

The offshore fire fighting vessel is registered at Tidewater’s Mexican unit, according to the US marine classification society's website.

Pemex said it would take three to five days to control the leak from the platform.

In all, the death toll includes seven workers from Perforadora Central as well as four workers from the service companyr Sercomsa.

Two other victims have not been identified yet, but the state-run company has indicated it lost workers as well.


Wednesday, 24 October, 2007, 15:17 GMT  | last updated: Thursday, 25 October, 2007, 16:13 GMT

This composite picture released by Pemex shows units of a simliar type to those which collided on Tuesday
 

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