KENNER, La. -- An oil rig exploded Sunday night in Lake Pontchartrain in St. Charles Parish, police in Louisiana said.
Kenner Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brian McGregor said Sunday evening that rescue boats were being sent from the Kenner Boat Launch and that officials with the Jefferson Parish sheriff's office were assisting, The Times-Picayune reported.
There were "a lot of injuries," many of them serious, with at least seven injuries confirmed and more expected, McGregor said.
Initial reports said six people were injured and one person was missing. No additional details on the status of the injured were given. No deaths were reported.
The Emergency Operations center received report at about 7:15 p.m. of fire and smoke being seen from Lake Pontchartrain, Jefferson Parish spokesman Antwan Harris said in a news release Sunday night.
"Several people have been rescued from the active fire on the rig," Harris said.
"Authorities on the scene report that cleaning chemicals ignited on the surface of the oil rig platform," the city of Kenner posted on its Facebook page Sunday evening.
Clovelly Oil Co. owns the platform, said Taylor Darden, a lawyer for the company who is listed as its registered agent with the Louisiana secretary of state.
The platform, located in Jefferson Parish, is used for the transfer of oil, said Chief David Tibbets of the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department.
He said the department's goal was to stop oil flow and, if needed, let it burn off safely.
Social media users reported hearing a loud noise and said the explosion even rattled some homes.
Andrew Love, 32, told the newspaper he was inside his house about 10 blocks away when he heard the explosion. "My house actually shook," he said.
"At first I thought it was a sonic boom or something. I had no idea what was happening."
Flames could be seen from the area, and the air smelled of burning rubber, according to the newspaper.
A Section on 10/16/2017