An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast in the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months.

AN oil platform exploded and caught fire yesterday off the Louisiana coast, spreading a mile-long oil sheen into the Gulf of Mexico. All 13 crew members were rescued from the water in their protective “Gumby suits”.

A mile-long oil sheen spread from an offshore oil platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico today.

An offshore oil rig has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill, coast guards said today.