QUINTON, Oklahoma — Five people are missing after a fiery explosion ripped through an eastern Oklahoma drilling rig Monday morning, sending plumes of black smoke into the air and leaving a derrick crumpled on the ground, an emergency official said. A gas explosion occurred at a

Trinity Resources well in the same area in February 2017, injuring a worker. Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma medical examiner's office tells The Associated Press:



"Confirmation of any fatalities wasn't expected to be possible until the fire was extinguished and investigators could get to the scene of the explosion. Emergency crews were pulled away after other explosions at the site, where several tanks are also located, Pittsburg County Emergency Management Director Kevin Enloe said during an afternoon news conference. READ MORE: No injuries reported after hydro vault explodes in downtown Toronto, police say

The drilling site was being operated by Oklahoma City-based Red Mountain Energy, said Matt Skinner, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and gas operators in the state. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, a state-wide regulatory body, said Red Mountain had authorized a private agency that specializes in rig emergency management to respond to the explosion. Houston-based Patterson-UTI Energy Inc., a drilling rig operator, confirmed in a statement Monday that some of its employees remain unaccounted for. 2 Works For You has a crew on the way to the scene and will bring you the latest information as we learn it.
An explosion on an oil rig in the U.S. state of Oklahoma leaves one injured and five people reported missing.