Oil Barge Upsets in Bayou; 6 Killed : 12 Escape; Rescuers Try to Free 5 Others Feared Trapped

MORGAN CITY, La. — A drilling barge carrying 23 people capsized in a bayou near this coastal Louisiana town, killing six crew members, officials said today. Five others were feared trapped in flooded compartments.

Ten people were pulled from the water shortly after the rig capsized, and two others were pulled through a hole cut in the bottom of the rig by rescue workers, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Bruce Barton.

“There are divers inside the vessel looking for survivors or bodies,” said Keith Simon, spokesman for Acadian Ambulance Service. “The outlook is not very good for survivors. Two of the three decks are under water. Very little of the vessel is exposed.”

Divers began finding bodies inside the rig shortly after they began their search.

Resting at Angle

Mark Kugelberg, another Coast Guard spokesman, said the barge came to rest at a 45-degree angle, with only about half of its bottom deck above water.

The rig is a 200-foot-long, 54-foot-wide barge capable of being raised above the floor of the marsh on legs like telephone poles.

It overturned shortly before midnight in Bayou Chene, near the St. Mary-Terrebonne parish line.

Simon said first reports indicated the barge was being moved when it overturned.

The St. Mary Parish sheriff’s office sent divers to the overturned barge and heard tapping noises from people inside, first reports indicated. Later, voice communication was established and divers used torches to burn through the bottom of the floating barge.

Communication Difficult

The Coast Guard in New Orleans said it sent a helicopter with more cutting equipment to the site.

“We’ve got guys on the scene, but you have to realize that communications are really difficult. It’s in such a hole,” Barton said.

The two men were rescued before dawn after crews drilled a hole in the hull to allow air into the barge. They had spent about five hours trapped inside.

“They are in good condition,” Simon said. “They were exposed to some cold water for some time, but they appeared to be in good condition.”

One was treated for a shinbone fracture. Five other workers taken to Lakewood Hospital were either uninjured or less severely hurt.

The rig was identified as the Tonkawa, owned by Temple Drilling Co. of Houston.

Shallow Water Rig

“It’s one of those little marsh-type jack-up rigs built for shallow water,” Barton said.

Bayou Chene is about five miles south of Amelia, the nearest dry land. It is about 10 miles from Morgan City, the closest major community in the vast marshes that merge with the Gulf of Mexico 10 miles farther south.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Keith Spangler said the skies over the scene were so thick with helicopters bearing sightseers and reporters that he had to establish a safety zone.

“We have rescue helicopters in the area, and we have diesel fuel in the water. You can’t do a rescue effort with people hovering 10 feet off the ground,” he said.

He said no other helicopters would be allowed within a mile of the scene or lower than 2,000 feet. “This will be in effect as of right now,” he said.