GULF OF MEXICO — The search continued Saturday for 10 oil workers missing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Helicopters, an airplane and several vessels looked for the men in Mexican waters after they abandoned a sinking liftboat Thursday afternoon, according to Brenda Taquino, a spokesperson for Houston-based Geokinetics. The company had contracted the research vessel from New Iberia-based Trinity Liftboat Services LLC.
The liftboat, called the Trinity II, is a vessel that can lower legs to the sea floor and lift the craft above the water level. The 10 missing workers abandoned the vessel when one of the legs was damaged and it began to sink.
The workers called for help Thursday afternoon, but no communication has been made since. A witness on a boat in the distance saw a worker jumping into a lifeboat Thursday. The life raft is enclosed and has enough food and water for several days but no communications abilities, Taquino said.
Taquino told the Houston Chronicle, “Our No. 1 priority is the safety and rescue of our employees and everyone on the life raft, and staying in contact to support the families of our employees.”
Sailors had reached the Trinity II but hadn’t found any of its crew, Mexican navy officials said Friday night.
While rescuers perform grid-searches for the missing oil workers in the Gulf, Mexican authorities are getting ready for Tropical Storm Nate, which was expected to pick up speed Saturday and approach the coast Sunday just below hurricane strength.
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