West Texas oil rig explosion, three workers killed

Texas oil rig explosion near Rankin, south of Midland

Texas oil rig explosion kills three men who were all from the same family.  Twitter photo from KCBD TV.

An oilfield rig in West Texas exploded Tuesday morning, killing three workers, all members of the same family.

Insp. Dusty Kilgore of the Upton County Sheriff’s Office said the west Texas oil rig explosion occurred near the city Rankin, about 40 miles south of Midland.

KCBD TV reports that Laura Lujan says the men killed in the explosion were her family members.  Lujan identifies the victims as Rogelio Salgado, Arturo Martinez Jr. and Arturo Martinez St.  The three were from Andrews, TX.

Lujan says Rogelio Salgado, 19, had two children and had just started working for the company two months ago.

According to Insp. Kilgore, a pulling crew was at the site at the time of the explosion.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration website describes a pulling unit as a well-servicing outfit.

A fourth rig worker was uninjured in the explosion.

The well is owned by Parsley Energy out of Midland.  The victims in the explosion were workers employed by Mason Well Service Ltd., an independent contractor from Odessa.