By Dan Molinski
Two oilfield workers were killed early Friday and three others
were injured when a fire erupted at an drilling rig in southeast
Oklahoma.
"We had a fire at an oil derrick and there were two individuals
that were killed," Sam Schafnitt, chief of operations for
Oklahoma's Office of the State Fire Marshal, said by telephone.
He said that of the three injured workers, two were transported
to trauma centers in critical condition, while another sustained
burns to his hands.
The accident happened off Highway 31, near the town of Coalgate,
which is about halfway between Dallas and Tulsa, Okla.
"This happened in a very rural area of the state, so we still
don't have many details," Mr. Schafnitt said, adding that
investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, or OSHA, were headed to the scene.
Reports said the rig was owned by Pablo Energy, according to The
Associated Press. Pablo couldn't be reached for comment.
The accident in Oklahoma comes one month after a worker for
Halliburton Co. (HAL) was killed in Colorado while conducting
hydraulic fracturing operations.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com