Workers Missing After Oil-Rig Explosion - 11 remain missing

Twelve people were missing and seven critically injured after an explosion and fire at an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter and crew document the fire aboard the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon, while searching for survivors. .The rig, about 41 miles off the Louisiana coast, is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd. and contracted to British oil major BP PLC. A spokesman for Transocean said most of the 126 people on board were safe. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said 12 were still missing but said reports indicated that all 126 people got off the rig. The rig was still burning and listing. Four Coast Guard helicopters and an airplane are being used in rescue operations and five Coast Guard cutters are also responding, the Coast Guard said. "We are still in a search and rescue operation," Transocean spokesman Greg Panagos said. Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish, has said that the missing people were in a lifeboat that drifted away from the rig while rescue workers were helping others. __________________________________ 11 remain missing on Thrusday::: One lawsuit filed

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit is claiming the companies involved in an oil platform explosion off the Louisiana coast were negligent. The lawsuit was filed in New Orleans on Thursday on behalf of a Mississippi man who worked on the rig and is one of 11 people still missing after the blast. The lawsuit says Shane Roshto, of Amite (Ah-mit) County, Miss., was thrown overboard in the Tuesday night explosion and is feared dead. The rig is owned by Transocean Ltd. and was under contract to oil giant BP. Both are defendants in the lawsuit. A Transocean spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment and BP wouldn't discuss the suit.

Teen Drowns in Trout River; One Man Missing in Julington Creek

A 16-year-old's body was pulled from the Trout River late Sunday night, ending the search for teen who fell into the water while fishing near Main Street. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has identified the teenager as Ladre McNeal of Jacksonville. Rescue crews have also called off a separate search for a man who fell off a small boat in Julington Creek. Police say that man is 29 year old Shane Wiggins of Jacksonville.The U.S. Coast Guard and Sheriff's Office rushed to the Trout River near Main Street around 4:30 Sunday afternoon after reports the teen fell in the water trying to retrieve a bait box near rocks and never surfaced. Dive teams found McNeal's body before 10 p.m. and said the drowning is still under investigation. Around 5 p.m. another possible drowning sent teams from the Coast Guard, Sheriff's Office, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, Clay County Sheriff's Office and St. Johns County Sheriff's Office to Julington Creek near the St. Johns County line. Bujeda says a man and woman were fishing in a small boat when the man fell off the boat and never came up from the water.

Palm Valley Jacksonville Boating Accident Faults Design of Boat

Here is the Times Union - Jacksonville.com story on the suit that has been filed against the boat manufacturer in this boating accident. This is another article about the design defect case that has been filed in Federal Court. Dwayne