He started planning his funeral, asking his wife to bury him with photos of their two girls, Kaylee and Maddison. He left behind a wife, Nancy, son and a daughter, Kala, who had given him his first grandchild shortly before the explosion. Because there was no body, the family buried a memory box beneath His stone at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Eunice, Louisiana. Was he okay? Over the next four years, Roshto would work his way up the ladder to lead roughneck. Married. It’s no coincidence that most of the 11 men who died were members of the drilling crew. Remembering The Deepwater Horizon Workers Eleven people died when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank into the Gulf of Mexico: Jason … Unlike most of the other families, Sheila Clark chose not to have an empty grave for Donald. The grave, however, lacks a body. multi-billion dollar fund to comppppensate victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Victims of Deepwater Horizon explosion honored at somber memorial. Luckily, my stepdad was safe. Father. Donald Clark, 49, Newellton, La. “And it would always get him through the rest of that day.”, Weise was so proud of the little house he’d bought in Yorktown, Texas, that he didn’t mind the 10-hour drive every three weeks to get back to work on the rig. “I have my children ...”. Ultimately, Vidrine, along with his partner Robert Kaluza, were both charged with 22 counts of manslaughter, all of which were eventually dropped. He and his wife, Tracy, adopted a number of animals from the Natchez Humane Society, and the family asked that donations be made to that organization in his honor. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In his first job with the oil industry, my stepdad was working IT on a rig. In real life, many feel that Vidrine and Kaluza were simply the fall guys for BP as the key decisions that led to … The bodies of the 11 workers were never recovered. “It’s the kind of truck he always wanted, and he got it.”, Growing up without a father, Weise learned to hunt and fish from his grandfather. The Times of London published Friday the first complete list of the oil workers killed in the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. The $18.7 billion BP settlement announced Thursday does little to heal the wounds suffered by the families of the 11 crew members killed when the Deepwater Horizon … Donald “Duck” Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana. The Coast Guard searched for them for two days, but the search was called off when the Deepwater Horizon succumbed to its fires and sunk to the bottom of the Gulf 5,000 feet below. Facebook Share. Ocean Conservancy is a 501(c)3 – Tax ID #23-7245152 – Donations are 100% tax-deductible as allowed by law. Like many Gulf Coast people, I too had a loved one working on an oil rig the day the Deepwater Horizon exploded. The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion was the April 20, 2010, explosion and subsequent fire on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. His widow has remarried. The father of three grown daughters was planning to marry his fiance when he was killed. The true story confirms that 11 of the 126 crew members lost their lives during the April 20, 2010 blowout. ‘Don’t worry about it. For many of us, then, the new movie Deepwater Horizon, which chronicles the last few hours aboard the rig, may be hard to watch. Our work is focused on solving some of the greatest threats facing our ocean today. A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history. The movie emphasizes this sentiment by portraying Vidrine as a vulgar character, a symbol of BP’s negligence. Transocean rig boss Jimmy Harrell is half-blinded in the first explosion by falling insulation and glass and struggles to regain command of his rig. Two months after Jones’ death, his widow gave birth to their second son — Maxwell Gordon, a name they’d decided on shortly before he left on his last hitch. In the weeks leading up to the disaster, Kemp hinted to his wife, Courtney, that there were problems on the rig. NEW ORLEANS Divers hired by the owner of an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that caught fire recovered a body near the site Saturday evening, according to … With the help of donors like you, Ocean Conservancy is developing innovative solutions to save our ocean. Portraits of the 11 who died on the Deepwater Horizon: Jason Anderson wasn’t even supposed to be on the Deepwater Horizon that day. EDITOR’S NOTE — Information for these vignettes comes from interviews with the victims’ survivors, the New York Times and a memorial issue of Beacon, a magazine published by rig owner Transocean. Mark Wahlberg, portraying chief electronic technician Mike Williams, calls out this climate of risk when he tells BP well site leader Donald Vidrine, played by John Malkovich, that it seems BP is “running out of gas while landing the plane.” The Deepwater Horizon was behind schedule, and BP was intent on finishing the job quickly so the rig could move onto another well site. : to Sheila Clark. Keith Blair Manuel, 56, Gonzalez, Louisiana. Houston Chronicle. Out in the Gulf, he would listen to sermons that a friend had loaded onto his MP3 player. He was scheduled to leave the rig April 21, the day after the blast. Periodic messages. Sheila Clark says her late husband liked his job as … A Facebook post on behalf of his family stated that although it wasn’t the outcome they prayed for, Daniel is coming home. But he never forgot the real reasons he was out there. Seven months after the fateful Gulf of Mexico explosion that triggered one of history’s worst environmental disasters, the 27-year-old rig … Written in Wite-Out under the brim of his blue hard hat were two dates: His and Natalie’s anniversary, and their son Blaine’s birthday. Baptized in a Colorado creek during a youth trip, faith was central to Wyatt Kemp’s life. Msg & data rates may apply. The Deepwater Horizon rig, owned and operated by offshore-oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by oil company BP, was situated in the Macondo oil prospect in the Mississippi Canyon, a valley in the continental shelf.The oil well over which it was positioned was located on the seabed 4,993 feet (1,522 metres) below the surface and extended approximately 18,000 feet (5,486 … The invisibility of the Deepwater Horizon’s victims occupies much of Brown’s attention. : … Two grandsons born since the disaster are named for him. Mobile alerts from Ocean Conservancy. Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean.Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon (a later asset of Transocean), registered in Majuro, and leased to BP from 2001 until September 2013. Here is a list of the 11 workers who died after a blast on the BP-leased drilling rig Deepwater Horizon on April 20, 2010 about 50 miles southeast of … But the avid fisherman and family man “never really enjoyed leaving home.”, “He left that job out there, he really did,” says his widow, who was in her mid-20s when relatives introduced her to Clark when he moved back to Newellton. Karl Kleppinger Jr., 38, Natchez, Mississippi. Directed by Peter Berg. Terms and Conditions. At the time of the blowout, a 5,000 foot-long riser connected the Deepwater Horizon to the well. Dewey Revette, 48, of State Line, Mississippi. : assistant driller for Transocean. Our ocean faces many threats like the onslaught of ocean trash, overfishing and ocean acidification. In real life, many feel that Vidrine and Kaluza were simply the fall guys for BP as the key decisions that led to the disaster ultimately came from their bosses in Houston. “They stayed at their workstations,” Berg told NPR, “when they could have jumped off the rig onto the lifeboats. Donald “Duck” Clark, 49, of Newellton, Louisiana. Together, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. When the Deepwater Horizon disaster struck in 2010, Mike Williams, who worked as the Chief Electronics Technician on the oil rig, emerged as one … I breathed a sigh of relief. The film points to the oil and gas industry’s overall lack of commitment to safety as the root cause of the disaster, just as the National Oil Spill Commission found in their 2011 report to the President. His other prize possession: A black, four-wheel-drive diesel pickup truck he’d dubbed “The Big Nasty.”, “It was every boy’s dream,” says his mother, Arleen. © 2021 www.clarionledger.com. By the time it sank and settled onto the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, the search for who was responsible had already begun. Text HELP to 69866 for more information. But that day in 2010, I’m sure tens of thousands of families went through the same worry, wondering if their loved ones were safe. The Baton Rouge native served in the Army during Operation Desert Storm and had worked for Transocean for 10 years. Curtis’ co-workers said his turkey call was so realistic, they half expected one of the birds to land on the rig. Y’all don’t give up on me, ‘cuz I will make it.”. Eleven families lost a loved one that day. Text STOP to 69866 to stop receiving messages. Gordon Jones, 28, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Aaron Dale Burkeen, 37, Philadelphia, Mississippi. Once the blowout occurs, chaos ensues because the rig crew was not properly trained on how to respond to such a disaster. Stephen Ray Curtis, 40, Georgetown, Louisiana. The Deepwater Horizon blew up on April 20, 2010, killing eleven men. But the family works hard to make sure Stafford, 7, and Max know who their father was. I’ll float to an island somewhere. Revette had been a driller with Transocean for 29 years. Ocean Conservancy, International Coastal Cleanup, Ocean Action Network, Trash Free Seas, Trash Free Seas Alliance and Rippl are registered trademarks of Ocean Conservancy. All rights reserved. He was a floor hand at the time of the disaster. Anderson had been with the rig since it launched from a South Korean shipyard in 2001. UMATILLA COUNTY — Umatilla County is up to 45 confirmed cases of COVID-19 after announcing eight new cases Tuesday, its largest single-day jump since the county began tracking the virus March 2. June 16: BP agrees to set aside $20 billion in an escrow account to pay economic damage claims to individuals and businesses affected by the oil spill. HERMISTON, Ore. — The family of Daniel Lincoln has announced that he was found dead Friday evening after being missing for weeks. “If he had a hard day, he could take that hardhat off and he could look at those two dates,” says his widow, who has since remarried. Movie director Peter Berg said during a National Public Radio interview that one of his motivations for making the movie was to recognize their dedication in the face of danger. On April 20, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico, BP's Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig experienced a catastrophic equipment failure, igniting an enormous fireball that killed 11 people and could be seen as far as 40 miles away. An assistant driller on the Deepwater Horizon, Curtis followed in The footsteps of his father, who was a diver-welder. He left behind a wife, Rhonda, and two children. Known to friends and family as “Big D” or simple “Bubba,” Burkeen’s favorite television show was “Man vs. Wild,” about people dropped into the wilderness. Ocean Conservancy is working with you to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Updated Jan 14, 2019; Posted May 25, 2010 . Dec. 30, 2011 Updated ... whose bodies remain with the Deepwater Horizon wreckage on the sea floor a … Revette had been a driller with Transocean for 29 years. Kleppinger left behind a son, Aaron. Anderson was transferring to another rig, and went out to the Deepwater Horizon to train his replacement, says his widow, Shelley. Deepwater Horizon's 11 Dead Remembered : The Two-Way A memorial service took place Tuesday in Jackson, Miss. He once told his sister: “Anything ever happens to me on that rig, I will make it. At the time of his death, the son had been in the oil industry 17 years. So began an 87-day oil spill that spewed 3.19 million barrels, or … But where Vidrine and Kaluza were found at fault, 11 heroic men had worked furiously to try to prevent the disaster. “If I would ask him about it, he would express (that) he didn’t want to talk about it. Embedded in his wedding band was a strand of steel cable, the same kind used on the rigs. Roy Wyatt Kemp, 27, Jonesville, Louisiana. Known on the rigs as Papa Bear, Manuel’s hunting buddies called him “Gros Bebe” — or “big baby.” A senior drilling fluids specialist, the goateed Manuel worked for Houston-based M-I SWACO, which supplied materials to the Deepwater Horizon. Because even though we now have an opportunity to make the Gulf even healthier than it was in 2010, we paid a dear price for this chance. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded off the Gulf Coast, killing 11 people and injuring 17. Deepwater Horizon Victims’ Families Wonder If BP Will Ever ‘Make Things Right’ (PHOTOS) JONESVILLE, La. 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