Barge fire causes Gulf of Mexico spill

The search for two missing workers was suspended as authorities struggled to contain a spill following a barge fire in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Texas, international media reported on Sunday.

The vessel was carrying 133,000 barrels of crude, though it remains unclear how much of it was released in the accident, local network KIII TV reported. The fate of the two missing workers remains unknown, Reuters said, with pictures released by the US coastguard suggesting that the barge sustained significant damage from the fire.

By Saturday afternoon oil and tar had started to wash up on nearby beaches on Mustang Island and Port Aransas, Texas, the reports added, despite attempts to limit the spill with a 600-metre-long containment boom around the vessel.