TEXAS-Oil Well Blows Out Injuring Four

An oil well blew out on a lease road near County Road 2087 in the Hardin area while being packed with drilling mud at about 7 a.m. Monday, injuring four near the well head of the oil rig.

None of the injuries were considered life threatening, said a press release from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputy James R. McQueen, there were approximately seven employees of the Smith Oil Company working on the rig which had been experiencing a leak. The employees were in the process of packing the rig with drilling mud when, for some unknown reason, the drilling mud blew back out and hurt the four employees. There was no fire or explosion and both the Devers Fire Department and Haz-Mat responding were unneeded.

Deputy McQueen reported that 64-year-old Carl Young suffered leg and facial injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to San Jacinto Hospital, while 52-year-old Evert Stoner suffered a minor eye injury, 56-year-old Joseph Semien complained of back and leg injuries and 26-year-old Kaleb West suffered facial injuries. These latter three employees were transported by ground ambulance to Herman Hospital in Houston.

Safety personnel from the oil company arrived on the scene in an attempt to determine the cause of the blow back of drilling mud and their investigation is presently under way.