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1 dead, 1 missing after fuel barge fire off Texas coast

1 dead, 1 missing after fuel barge fire off Texas coast | iNFOnews.ca
This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a barge on fire approximately three miles from Port Aransas, Texas, jetties, Friday. Oct. 20, 2017. A Coast Guard Corpus Christi MH-65 Dolphin and HC-144 Ocean Sentry are searching for two missing crew members. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

PORT ARANSAS, Texas – A barge loaded with crude oil caught fire off the Texas coast, leaving one crew member dead and another missing.

A spokesman for the city of Port Aransas, Rick Adams, confirmed the death Friday and said the search continues for the missing crew member. The names of the victims were not immediately released.

Capt. Bobby Grumbles of the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots Association says the explosion happened while a tugboat with the barge was pulling in its anchor about 4:30 a.m. Friday about 3 miles (5 kilometres) from Port Aransas.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. No pilot was on board when the explosion occurred.

Adams says the barge had about 133,000 barrels of crude oil on it but didn’t lose the load.

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