For crew of doomed US rig, a night of flames and terror focus 05/13/2010

For crew of doomed US rig, a night of flames and terror

focus 05/13/2010 NEW ORLEANS — The nightmare began with a geyser of mud and water that shot 300 feet (100 m) into the air. Before anyone could react, gas from deep below the sea found a spark and the Deepwater Horizon was ablaze. One explosion, then a second, shook the offshore drilling rig. Louder than a jet, louder than a bomb, they threw sleeping workers from their beds and tossed men up into the air like grains of sand. Alarms sounded, and all around workers scrambled to escape. Flames erupted from the rig’s derrick, spewing thick smoke into the air, Christopher Choy recalled in an interview with NPR radio. “I knew we weren’t going to put that out,” he said. “And that was just the worst feeling in the world.” He wasn’t one to be afraid of anything, but the flames terrified him.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100513com7.html

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