On Friday, at least two people were killed and one more missing after a fire broke out at the Nohoch Alfa offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico's Bay of Campeche, state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said in a statement.
According to Pemex, about 321 of the 328 workers who were working in the building when the fire started have already been evacuated. Four boats were dispatched to control the fires at the oil platform.
The state-owned oil company said earlier that at least six were injured.
In the latest video statement posted on Pemex's Twitter account, Pemex manager Octavio Romero Oropeza said the two people who died and the missing person were from the company that worked at the facility and not Pemex.
Oropeza said the part of the platform where the fire broke out has been completely destroyed, and Pemex is investigating the cause of the fire.
He mentioned that the company was now focusing its efforts on tracing the missing persons and resuming operations.
Some workers at other platforms told CNN on Friday that flames could be seen from nearby platforms, so it appears the incident was major.
During a previous press conference, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador noted that Pemex firefighters were fighting the blaze and that the Mexican Navy was also involved in the effort.
Some employees of other platforms told CNN Friday that the flames can be seen from the nearby platforms, so the incident appears to be of considerable magnitude.
Pemex, which has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities, said “it will continue to report on the control, extinction of the fire and damage assessment throughout the day.”
In 2021, a blaze that resembled a large “eye of fire” near a Pemex offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico was brought under control.
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