5 presumed dead after explosion at Oklahoma gas drilling rig

The Associated Press

8 years ago

In this photo provided from a frame grab, fires burn at an eastern Oklahoma drilling rig near Quinton, Okla., Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. Five people are missing and presumed dead after a fiery explosion ripped through a drilling rig, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled on the ground, emergency officials said. (Christina Goodvoice, KOTV/NewsOn6.com via AP)

Smoke billows from the site of a gas well fire near Quinton, Okla., early Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. Several people are missing after a fiery explosion ripped through the eastern Oklahoma drilling rig, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled onto the ground, an emergency official said. (Kevin Harvison/The McAlester News-Capital via AP)

QUINTON, Okla. — Officials say the five employees who have been missing since an explosion at an Oklahoma gas drilling rig are presumed dead.

Pittsburg County Sheriff Chris Morris said Tuesday that the search for the workers has turned to a recovery mission after the Monday morning blast in eastern Oklahoma.

Three of the workers were employed by Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. Company president and CEO Andy Hendricks pledged a full investigation into the explosion.

Emergency management officials said Monday night that the fire was extinguished. Authorities say 16 people who were on the site at the time of the blast escaped without major injuries. One person was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.