Gulf oil rig workers remembered

JACKSON, Miss., May 26 (UPI) -- The 11 men who died in the blast that triggered the Gulf of Mexico oil spill were remembered in a memorial service as hardworking heroes, officials said.

"They were hardworking men who loved their country and their God," Transocean Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman said Tuesday at the Jackson Convention Center in Mississippi.

The service, held more than a month after the explosion, was organized by Transocean, the Swiss company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and operated it under lease to British oil giant BP.

Nine of the men killed April 20 worked for Transocean. The other two worked for M-I SWACO, a drilling company.

"These men are heroes, all 11 of them," M-I SWACO Chief Executive Officer Chris Rivers told hundreds of family and friends of the men.

The country band Diamond Rio and New Orleans group Joyful Gospel Choir performed at the service, which featured messages from Christian author Max Lucado and a videotaped tribute from country music star Trace Adkins, a former oil rig worker, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Eleven bronze hard hats were presented to the men's relatives.