Officials Identify Worker Killed in Friday’s Oil Rig Explosion off Grand Isle, One Man Still Missing

Officials have released the name of the man whose body washed ashore Sunday morning following the explosion of an oil rig 25 miles off the coast of Grand Isle last Friday.  However, his coworker remains missing.

The body of Ellroy Corporal, 42, was recovered after he presumably jumped overboard following the blast.  According to the Times-Picayune, Corporal leaves behind a wife and two children.  He, like four other men who were wounded in the explosion, was a Filipino contract worker.  The search for Jerome Malagapo, however, continues with the rig's owner -- Black Elk Energy -- working with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, the four men who were burned in the blast remain between fair and critical condition.  Only one of the men, Wilberto Ilagan, was identified, after he made a release to the press over the weekend.  Those four men, along with Malapago and Corporal, were all contract workers for Grand Isle Shipyard.

A total of 22 men were on board the rig during the explosion, which happened when crews were cutting into a pipe with an acetylene torch. Oil still in the pipe ignited.

[NOLA.com]