Coast Guard Searches For 2 After Oil Platform Fire

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Coast Guard officials say they are searching from the sea and the sky for two workers who went missing after a fire erupted on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agency says in a news release sent Saturday morning that helicopters and an 87-foot cutter are searching for the missing crew members.

The platform, which is about 25 miles off the Louisiana coast, is owned by Black Elk Energy. The blaze, which started when workers were using a torch to cut an oil line, remains under investigation.

At least four workers with severe burns were in critical condition.

The fire came a day after BP agreed to plead guilty to a raft of charges in the 2010 Gulf oil spill and pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties.