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Oil barge explosion off Texas kills one, fire now out

Saturday, 21 October 2017 1:48 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 21 October 2017 1:50 AM ]

Oil barge explosion in Texas

At least one person was killed and another was missing on Friday (October 20) after an oil barge being pulled by a tug boat caught fire and exploded in the Gulf of Mexico off Texas, officials said.

The barge was carrying some 133,000 barrels of crude oil to a refinery in Corpus Christi when the explosion occurred at 4:30 A.M., they said.

The dead person had not yet been identified and the fire was allowed to burn itself out before being extinguished, said Rick Adams, Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Port Aransas.

Six of the eight crew members were rescued and did not suffer any serious injuries, Adams added.

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