NEW ORLEANS — Coast Guard officials Friday suspended the three-day search for 11 workers missing since an explosion rocked an offshore oil rig.
Coast Guard Capt. Peter Troedsson said he spoke with the workers’ families about the decision to suspend the search before telling the media.
“I’m a father and husband, and I have done this a few times before,” he said. “It’s never easy.”
The Coast Guard says it will resume the search if any ships in the area see anything, but the workers’ chances of survival had seemed slim well before Friday afternoon’s announcement.
Neither the Coast Guard nor their employers have released the workers’ names, though several of their families have come forward.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said no oil appeared to be leaking from a well head at the ocean floor, and none was leaking at the water’s surface. The Associated Press
