Deepwater blast occurred after ‘all defences failed’

THE April 20 explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that caused the largest environmental disaster in US history occurred because every single defence on the Deepwater Horizon rig failed, The New York Times reported yesterday.

The newspaper, which undertook its own investigation of the blast that killed 11 rig workers and injured dozens of others, said some of the defences were deployed but did not work, some were activated too late, and some were not deployed at all.

Communications fell apart, warning signs were missed and crew members in critical areas failed to coordinate a response, the report pointed out.