An explosion has torn through an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the blast in April that caused a huge oil spill.
All 13 crew on the rig escaped into the water and were later rescued.
A Coast Guard officer told the BBC an oil sheen was spotted around the platform, which was still burning.
Helicopters, boats and aircraft have been sent to the site, about 130km (80 miles) south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
Ships battle the fire aboard the Gulf of Mexico rig The platform was said to be under maintenance at the time of the fire
The blast was reported by a helicopter company at 0930 local time (1330 GMT).
The owners of the platform, Mariner Energy, said it was undergoing maintenance and not producing any oil or gas at the time of the explosion.
By the afternoon, five ships had reached the platform, with three surrounding it and spraying it with huge plumes of water. No flames were apparent in photographs and video images.
Immersion suits
All 13 workers who fell into the Gulf are accounted for and have been transported to another platform by an oil support vessel, the Coast Guard said. One person is reportedly injured.
The workers "had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby [survival] suits before they entered the water," said Coast Guard chief petty officer John Edwards.
The federal government would respond if there were reports of pollution, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Ships battle the fire aboard the Gulf of Mexico rig All 13 workers who fell into the Gulf are said to be accounted for and have been removed from the rig
The explosion comes more than four months after a blast ripped through the Deepwater Horizon oil rig leased by BP, causing about hundreds of million gallons of oil to be released into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Mariner platform is located in shallow water, approximately 340ft (105m) above the floor of the Gulf. Officials stressed if oil were to leak, the response would be much easier than in the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the company had told him the seven active wells under production by the platform were shut down shortly after the fire broke out.
The structure had been undergoing maintenance prior to the blast, said Melissa Schwartz, spokeswoman for Bureau of Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement.
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two planes, and three boats were sent to the site of the explosion from the states of Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11014645
