Oil platform explosion

NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (UPI) -- Rescue teams searched for 11 people missing following an explosion on an off-shore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

Flames Thursday marked the site of the Deepwater Horizon platform, which was rocked by an explosion Wednesday. There were 126 workers on the platform at the time; about 100 have reached shore.

Several of the survivors suffered extensive injuries in the explosion.

While rescuers searched the Gulf waters for the missing, other crews tried to contain the fire raging on the platform, which has tilted drastically and could completely collapse.

Special equipment was dispatched to try to shut off the flow of oil that is feeding the fire. It was unclear how long that would take.

Transocean, the Swiss company that operated the rig, said the cause of the explosion wasn't known. A spokesman said drilling operations were ongoing at the time.