http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/us/22rig.html “We’ve had hurricanes and fires on the rigs, but I can’t remember that we ever had this type of explosion and definitely not on this type of rig,” Mr. Nungesser said. “This is one of the largest, deep water, off-shore drilling rigs.”
The Deepwater Horizon can operate in water depths up to 8,000 feet, according to Transocean’s Web site. It is 396 feet long and 256 feet wide and was built in 2001 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea.
Mr. Paganos said the rig had a crew of 126, most of them Transocean employees, along with some B.P. personnel, consultants and service workers.
“The rig is leaning badly,” Mr. Nungesser said in an interview with WWL-TV, a New Orleans television station. He added that Coast Guard officials felt “like it may go over sometime today.”
Sid