Phl asks US to probe oil worker’s death

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine embassy in Washington has asked United States authorities to thoroughly investigate a Gulf of Mexico incident that claimed the life of Filipino oil worker Peter Jorge Voces last week.

Ambassador Jose Cuisia Jr. made the request to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) of the US Department of the Interior to look into the incident as he expressed deep concern over the safety of Filipinos working in offshore oil facilities in the US.

Cuisia issued the call following the death of the 38-year old welder, who fell off oil platform on Sunday.

“Although we hope Mr. Voces’ death was not the result of platform safety issues, we expect the BSEE to thoroughly investigate the incident,” the embassy quoted Cuisia as saying in the posts on its Twitter account.

 â€œWe urge US authorities, employers and contractors to take concrete measures to protect our workers and prevent future incidents,” Cuisia said.

The embassy said the ambassador spoke to Voces’ widow, Maritess, over the phone and assured her that the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago will ensure the speedy repatriation of her late husband’s remains.

An official of Houston-based Talos Energy said Voces was a member of a derrick barge crew that was contracted by its subsidiary, Energy Resource Technology, to dismantle one of its platforms at Vermillion Block 200, located some 55 miles south of Freshwater Bayou in Louisiana.

Talos Energy representative David Blackmon said Voces was apparently knocked off the platform by an empty storage tank that fell with him into the water, which was around 100 feet deep.