Gulf oil spill: Two deaths reported [updated]

U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, incident commander of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, said the deaths of two spill workers were reported Wednesday. One of the dead was from the "vessel of opportunity" program in which local boats are enlisted to help the cleanup effort. The other involved a swimming pool accident. He gave no further details.

[Updated 10:21 a.m. Staff at the Baldwin County, Ala., coroner's office said they were investigating the death of a vessels of opportunity worker who collapsed before leaving the dock at Fort Morgan. The man's name has not been released. Gulf Shores police are investigating and plan to release information after 5 p.m. staff said. The detective handling the case did not return calls. 

A spokeswoman for the Gulf Shores joint incident command said they were not investigating and had not been notified by authorities about what caused the man's death, or whether it was work-related. Spokeswoman Cortnee Ferguson said the man was a captain operating his own boat. ]

-- Geoff Mohan and Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Comments

[dotti]

Money and power... rich and powerful people... sometimes what you know about something... can cost you your life! I don't know what's going on but... I wouldn't rule out "foul play" with these powerful people.

[Zach]

Typical that they give no information regarding how they died. I bet you any money it has something to do with all the toxic chemicals in the air. They only make it more suspicious when they don't say any details at all about how some workers died..

[Kevin]

We as world have let policts and greed ruin it. Here we have a company making 17 billion + in 2009 and making short cuts on a experimental well over a mile deep.
Then you have the media not telling the whole truth about any story. Politician ( senate- congress ) should be fired and there should never have been any lobbyist ever aloud to mainipulate laws to get what they want.
Then you have the lawyer that are out for nothing but money and power. The people of the world need to stand up and tell there goverments to stop the waste and start new.
Now you have the politicain voiting them a raise. Are they that dumb and fell the people at one of our worst financial criss that they deserve a raise, no I think we should tell them we want there pay cut by 15%.
Next when they quit playing who the biggest bully in the class . And start working for the people ( what they are there for ) it will up out country and others.
BP needs to be under investagation on all rigs for safty and the people in the goverment that we not doing proper investagation because they we in bed with BP should be fired and fined.
I have to stop know because I couild go on for hours. In my past I had a top secret clerance because I move milatary weapons. We have wasted money for many generation its just gotten a lot worse.

Kevin

[Susan]

Working in this kind of environment can certainly make someone sick. What can we do to help? Rent a vacation home or sign yours up and the proceeds will be given to help these folks. Check out Geronimo.com. This is a great idea whether you have a vacation rental you want to list or you're a vacationer who wants to rent.

[Angela]

classical .. they say the captain committed suicide ..and my name is Big Bird

Funny that the only person who committed suicide so far was one of BP's workers ..hmmmmmmm

[Geena Poff]

I am confused myself. I thought these deaths were in correlation with the gulf oil spill...

[Jason]

Oh my, the oil spill is creeping up onto the docks and into our swimming pools to kill the workers, just like Stephen King's "The Raft". Better watch out the oil spill is coming after you. The oil wants to live and doesn't like being sopped up with a paper towel.

Is it just me of did this headline imply the deaths were related to the cleanup effort?