Natural gas well blows in Louisiana pine forest

September 3, 1980

A natural gas well that blew out in a rural pine forest belched flames 100 feet into the air Monday in the third such incident in Gulf-area gas fields in three days. No injuries were reported, but five workers were killed and seven hurt Saturday in a blowout and fire on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico off Port O'Connor, Texas. Less than 24 hours later, five men were injured in a hasty evacuation of another rig that blew out off Sabine Pass, Texas.