| Well rig continues to burn; three injured men remain hospitalized 04/13/2001 Associated Press CARLSBAD, N.M. – Flames licked at the foot of a blown Eddy County oil rig for a second day today, while the conditions of two men injured in the blast improved.
A third worker hurt in the explosion remained in critical condition, "but he's stable, so that is really a good sign,'' said Kim Davis, spokeswoman for University Medical Center at Lubbock, where the three men are hospitalized.
The fire, which erupted early Thursday in the remote, unpopulated desert south of Brantley Lake State Park, destroyed the $3 million rig owned by Timber Sharp.
Boots & Coots International Well Control of Houston, which specializes in snuffing oil rig fires, sent a crew to the site.
"They don't rush things, I know that,'' state police Lt. Larry Rogers said Friday. "There's too big a risk for injury.''
The fire could continue burning Saturday – or longer, he said.
The Boots & Coots crew first must tear down the Timber Sharp Rig No. 10 rig before they can use explosives to smother the fire, authorities said. The well then would be capped.
The three men who were injured where working on the rig, drilling down at 8,385 feet, when the explosion occurred.
Charles Williams, 24, of Carlsbad, who was burned over 40 percent of his body, remained in critical condition Friday, Davis said.
Dennie Bailey, 40, of Odessa, Texas, who suffered facial burns and possibly inhaled superheated smoke, improved from critical to serious condition, she said.
Curry Powell, 28, of Menard, Texas, who had face burns and inhaled hot smoke, improved from critical to satisfactory condition, Davis said.
There was no immediate determination of what caused the blast, but state police Maj. Faron Segotta said drillers might have encountered a pocket of gas.
Law enforcement officers evacuated fire crews and rig workers after the blowout.
"The area's pretty much safe, except for the area around the fire, Rogers said.
|
