The U.S. Coast Guard spent hours searching the waters off Louisiana for four people on board a helicopter that crashed while departing an oil platform.
The helicopter's pilot and three oil workers went into the Gulf of Mexico about 8:40 a.m. CST, said Petty Officer Jose Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard’s 8th District headquartered in New Orleans. Crews in a boat and a helicopter had found no sign of them by evening.
“So far we’ve only found debris and no people,” Hernandez said.
He said Coast Guard officials were still deciding whether to keep searching after dark.
Hernandez said the oil platform is operated by Houston-based Walter Oil and Gas. The Associated Press reached out to a spokesperson for the company, who was not immediately available for comment.
The helicopter went down about 10 miles (16 kilometers) offshore of Southwest Pass, a shipping channel at the mouth of the Mississippi River southeast of New Orleans. Helicopters routinely transport workers to and from oil platforms in the Gulf.
More on this story at KPRC.
