Two workers were killed and another seriously injured during a training exercise gone wrong at Royal Dutch Shell’s Auger platform in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
The accident occurred Sunday during a routine safety exercise of the platform’s lifeboat launch and retrieval capabilities, Shell said, although the company has not elaborated yet on how the incident occurred. But there was no leak or release of oil involved.
Shell said it is respecting the privacy of the families and not yet releasing the names of the victims. The injured worker is being treated for non-life threatening injuries at a nearby hospital.
The incident occurred about 215 miles south of New Orleans in the deepwater Gulf.
“In the over 40 years that Shell has operated in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico we have strived, above all, to ensure our people go home safely to their loved ones. It’s devastating when they do not,” Shell said in a prepared statement. “We deeply regret this loss of life within our Shell family and community.”
The full version of this article first appeared on the Houston Chronicle – an Energy Voice content partner. For more from the Houston Chronicle click here.