Search For Missing Texas Oil-Barge Crew Members Suspended

A sea and air search was suspended on Sunday for two crew members who went missing after an oil barge caught fire early on Friday and leaked an undetermined amount of the fuel into the Gulf of Mexico off Port Aransas, Texas. There was no immediate determination of what caused the fire, which was extinguished on Friday. The search for the missing crew members was halted after it turned up no signs of the two. Authorities are bringing in additional floating booms to contain oil around the barge, which is anchored about 3 miles off Port Aransas. Earlier they put about 2,000 feet of containment boom around the vessel. Efforts were under way on Sunday to seal two oil tanks that were breached during the early morning fire. The two tanks that were exposed during the fire, which cut through the ship’s deck, hold about 20,000 barrels combined.