Five killed and six injured in fire on Mexican oil platform

State-owned oil firm denies cost-cutting to blame for fatal blaze

The platform in the Gulf of Mexico erupted into flames during routine maintenance work (EPA-EFE)

Five people have died and two more are missing after a fire broke out on a Mexican offshore oil platform.

Six other workers were injured in the accident which took place while they were carrying out routine maintenance on Sunday.

Pemex, the state-owned oil company which runs the facility, said the blaze on the processing platform in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field had now been brought under control.

However, the fire did cause 125 wells in the field to shut down, slashing oil production by 421,000 barrels a day, a quarter of Mexico’s total output and costing Pemex the equivalent of £18m a day.

Rescue workers are still searching for the two people missing in the accident, Pemex’s chief executive Octavio Romero told a press conference. One of those injured is in a serious condition in hospital.

The cause of the fire has not yet been found and investigations are continuing, Mr Romero said.

“This was the result not of an equipment failure, not of a lack of maintenance, but rather of planned (maintenance) work, where what occurred is known as an accident.

“Why did it occur? That is something we will find out in coming days.”

Pemex has a chequered safety record, is groaning under huge debts, and the Mexican government has engaged in a ruthless cost-cutting programme under president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The president, who expressed sorrow at the incident at a morning news conference, has made reviving Pemex’s fortunes a top priority of his government.

But the company’s boss said a lack of investment was not the cause of the fatal accident, but was simply down to the inherent risks of working in the oil industry.

“There is not a problem of lack of investment, there is not a problem of lack of resources," Mr Romero said. "The oil industry is a risky industry. We have had accidents, which in numbers are less than in previous years."

A fire at another Pemex platform last month caused a furore on social media after leaking underwater gas appeared to set the sea itself on fire.

Pemex hopes to restore some kind of production in the fire-damaged platforms and associated wells as soon as possible, with the first wells coming back on line as soon as Wednesday or Thursday, Mr Romero told reporters.