Filipino Worker Dies from Injuries in Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Blast

A Filipino worker who was badly burned in an explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico on November 16 has died from his injuries, reports ABC Radio Australia. His death brings to three, the toll from the blast off the coast of Louisiana. All three fatalities were Filipinos.

Welder Avelino Tajonera, 49, died a few hours after his wife and three children arrived at a Texas hospital to see him. The body of Ellroy Corporal, 42, has been recovered and will be repatriated next week. Jerome Malagapo, 28, was lost at sea. Nine of the 22 workers doing maintenance work on the non-producing platform were Filipinos working for a sub-contractor. Rig operator Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations reportedly has a history of safety violations.