The body of a welder who sparked a massive search operation after falling into the sea from a platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been recovered by rescuers.
Peter Voces fell 100ft into the Gulf from a platform in the Vermillion Block 200, around 55miles south of Freshwater Bayou in Louisiana on Sunday evening.
The Filipino welder, 38, was part of a crew dismandling the platform for Talos Energy. It is thought he was knocked off the rig by an empty storage tank.
Coast guard officials launched a major search for the missing man yesterday, with two helicopters and two airplanes, along with more than half a dozen ships, involved in the hunt.
Divers recovered his body pinned in wreckage in the water below the platform, the company said.
The Filipino embassy said it would do everything possible to return his body to his family quickly.
“It is with deep sadness that we learn about the loss of our kababayan,” said Ambassador Jose Cuisia
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones in the Philippines.”
