News - Local
Alarm System Was Shut Down Day of Rig Explosion
Posted: Jul 23, 2010 1:06 PM by Melissa Canone
KENNER, La. (AP) - An electronics technician aboard the
ill-fated oil rig Deepwater Horizon told an investigative panel
Friday that an alarm system was partially shut down on the day the
rig exploded.
Mike Williams said the system was turned on to monitor for fire,
explosive gas and toxic gas but that its sound and light alarms had
been disabled. Williams worked for rig owner Transocean Ltd. The
rig was leased by BP PLC.
Williams testified that he had asked before about the settings
and was told the company didn't want a false alarm waking people at
night.
Williams said that if the system had been fully active, an alarm
likely would have sounded before the explosion, which happened on
the night of April 20. The sank two days later. Since then,
millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf.
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