18 oil workers die in rig accident

At least 18 oil workers were killed and seven others were missing after a Mexican drilling rig hit an oil platform in stormy weather, spilling gas and oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the state-owned oil company said.

Rescuers had pulled 61 workers from storm-tossed waters but had yet to control the leak, said Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. The company said it was not immediately clear how much had spilled.

The company said 81 workers and five rescue personnel abandoned a subcontractor’s Usumacinta drilling rig Tuesday after it hit the Kab 101 light-production platform amid 25-foot waves and winds gusting to 80 mph.