U.s. Coast Guard | featured news

Coast Guard crews continued searching for two workers missing after an explosion and fire aboard a Gulf of Mexico oil rig on Friday that was apparently triggered by workers using a blow torch to cut a pipe.

Two people were missing and four people were airlifted to a hospital Friday after an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico some 17 miles southeast of Grand Isle, La., the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC News.

A Coast Guard recruiting office in Virginia was damaged by apparent gunfire overnight, and authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating whether the incident was related to a recent spate of shootings at other military buildings close to the capital.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it was responding to a tanker collision in the Gulf of Mexico 40 miles offshore Texas, which resulted in an 18,000 gallon oil spill.