It’s an anxious wait for the families of 11 offshore workers who still remain missing after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion occurred at about 10 PM on Tuesday night.  At least seven workers have sustained critical injuries in the explosion. Two of the severely injured workers have been taken to a burn center in Mobile, Alabama while two more have been taken to a New Orleans hospital.

There were 126 people on board the rig which is located off the Louisiana coast, about 52 miles southeast of Venice. Most of the workers on the rig were able to make it to life rafts, and are being brought back to shore on a lifeboat. However, 11 workers on the rig continue to be missing. According to the owner of the rig Transocean Ltd., the rig was drilling, but was not in production at the time of the explosion. It had been contracted out to BP PLC. BP says all its workers on the rig have been confirmed to be safe.

There will be time for investigations to begin, and for us to find out what caused this tragic explosion. However, the biggest priority right now is locating the 11 missing workers, and making sure that the critically injured workers who are currently hospitalized, receive the best medical treatment and care.

My thoughts are with the injured workers, and I hope they make a full and speedy recovery. I will also keep the 11 missing workers in my prayers, and pray that their families receive the good news they are anxiously waiting for.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of injured Jones Act seamen, galley hands, tankermen, drillers,, deckhands,  offshore workers and other maritime workers in maritime accidents in Texas, around the country and in international waters.