Oil rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico; 2 dead, 2 missing

U.S. Coast Guard officer Ryan Tippets speaks with MSNBC's Thomas Roberts about the oil platform explosion off the coast of Louisiana. By Miguel Llanos and Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News Two people were killed, two were missing and four were airlifted to a hospital Friday after an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, according to local officials. Rescue crews searched the Gulf some 17 miles southeast of Grand Isle, La., for the missing workers. The injured are in critical condition, according to Jefferson Parish Emergency Management. The fire was later extinguished, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Twenty-eight people had been aboard the rig at the time of the accident. The platform was not actively producing oil and no spill was immediately sighted, the Coast Guard said. It does not appear the incident could lead to a major environmental disaster, Coast Guard Capt. Peter Gautier said. He said initial reports suggested that the explosion occurred when maintenance workers cut into a pipe and oil escaped. The platform is a shallow-water production platform, unlike BP's Macondo well that blew out in 2010 in mile-deep water. The Macondo explosion killed 11 workers and caused the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The owner of the platform is Houston-based Black Elk Energy. On its website, the company stated that this month it was starting to drill the first of 23 new wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Last Sunday, The Houston Chronicle named Black Elk Energy one of the top small businesses to work for in Houston based on employee surveys. In August, the oil and gas company was named one of the fastest-growing privately held companies by Inc. Magazine. The explosion came a day after BP settled criminal charges in the Macondo disaster by agreeing to pay $4.5 billion in penalties. It still faces up to $20 billion in civil fines. NBC's Edgar Zuniga Jr. and The Associated Press contributed to this report. More content from NBCNews.com: Panetta orders review of ethics amid allegations of military misconduct Petraeus says he didn't share classified information with Broadwell Obama to storm-battered New Yorkers: 'You're tough' BP to pay $4.5 billion, plead guilty to criminal charges in Gulf of Mexico oil spill Before the storm, Petraeus, Broadwell met in public Video: Petraeus to meet congressional leaders on Benghazi Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook