A fire broke out on an oil platform off the coast of Southern California early Monday, briefly endangering more than two dozen workers aboard the offshore platform.
Emergency crews were able to safely evacuate all 26 workers at Platform Habitat, an oil platform about nine miles off the coast of Carpinteria, although two minor injuries were reported, according to Petty Officer Kenneth Wiese, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman.
Images from the scene shared by the U.S. Coast Guard showed firefighting ships releasing jets of water on the platform, which was engulfed in black and gray smoke around 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Calls about a fire or possible explosion at Platform Habitat came in around 7 a.m. Monday, Wiese said. At 11:30 a.m. the fire was still not under control.
“There was and is a fire on board that is being fought,” Wiese said.
Crews from the Ventura and Santa Barbara county fire departments were at the scene, along with Coast Guard personnel.
This is a developing story.
