Two crude oil tanks caught fire Tuesday on an oil production platform near Bayou Sorrel, La., as it was being dismantled, burning out as the Coast Guard with state and local agencies contained the blaze and boomed off the area to contain spillage.
The Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit at baton Rouge, La., was notified at 9:15 a.m. of an explosion and fire on the Berry Lake Canal in Iberville parish. Two workers on the platform escaped without injury.
The Bayou Sorrel fire was extinguished on March 16. USCG photo.The potential crude oil volume in the tanks was estimated at 33,000 gals., and continued to burn out into Tuesday night as responders kept watch, including the state Oil Spill Coordinator’s Office, state Department of Environmental Quality, state police, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Iberville Sheriff’s Office and Iberville Fire Department.
The fire was extinguished around 1 p.m. Wednesday, and according to the Coast Guard the pollution released was minimal and expected to dissipate naturally.
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
