Seal Beach : Head Injuries Caused Death in Oil Rig Mishap

An autopsy has determined that blunt force injuries to the head caused the death of a Ventura man working on a small island oil rig two miles off the coast of Seal Beach, authorities said Sunday.

Orange County Deputy Coroner Cullen Ellingburgh said the 25-year-old victim, who was not identified pending family notification, had begun his job eight days before the accident. Ellingburgh said the accident at about 11:45 a.m. Saturday on the Esther Island oil rig was not caused by an explosion--as initially reported--but apparently resulted from the escape of pressurized air.

The actual cause of the worker’s injuries had not been determined Sunday, but Ellingburgh said investigators are checking the possibility that pressurized air might have forced open a bracket that held pipes together, striking the worker.

“People heard a whooshing sound and found him down below this particular rig,” Ellingburgh said. “There was no gasoline, no explosion and no flying debris. . . . But the bracket is pretty heavy.”

The death was being investigated by Seal Beach police, the Coroner’s Department and the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ellingburgh said. Investigators have said that foul play has been ruled out.

According to Coast Guard Lt. Michael Parks, Esther Island, one of several offshore oil drilling rigs in the area, is owned by Chevron USA Inc.