Fire kills 4 on Gulf of Mexico oil platform

A massive fire on an oil platform in Mexico’s portion of the Gulf of Mexico killed four workers, but did not cause a significant oil spill.

Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil company, owned the shallow-water platform, The Associated Press reported.

{mosads}Pemex said the fire injured another 16 workers, two seriously, and forced the evacuation of 300.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto pledged to “find whoever is responsible” for the incident and work to ensure that it does not happen again.

Firefighters and emergency workers on 10 boats were still battling the fire late into Wednesday, the AP said.

The cause of the blast was still being investigated as of Wednesday night, Pemex head Emilio Lozoya told journalists.

Pemex said in a statement that only a small amount of oil seeped into the sea, and specialized boats were deployed to contain it, according to the AP.

The platform was used to process oil and natural gas and separate various products from drilling rigs before they go to onshore refineries.

Roger Arias Sanchez, an employee of the contractor operating the rig, told the AP that workers jumped into the water to escape the flames.