Crash Kills 2 Oil Platform Workers
A helicopter carrying an offshore oil platform pipe-laying crew crashed at sea Thursday off Point Conception, killing two men and injuring two others, authorities said.
A military helicopter from nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base plucked the two most seriously injured workers from the ocean 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles and took them to the base hospital, Air Force Sgt. Fred Bolinger said.
The men, who were not immediately identified, died shortly after arrival, Bolinger said. Both men worked for McDermott Inc., a marine construction company based in New Orleans.
The pilot and another McDermott employee were taken to Marion Medical Center in Santa Maria. The pilot was treated and released, but the McDermott employee was in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Cheryl Davisson said.
“We aren’t giving out anything right now,” said Tom McNally, spokesman for Goleta-based Petroleum Helicopters. The firm usually shuttles employees to and from oil platforms.
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