Mind-Boggling Shots of the Ocean on Fire From a Gas Leak
An underwater gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico led to viral imagery this week of the sea on fire. The mind-boggling shots show firefighting vessels spraying water to put out the sea.
Authorities say that company responders were able to fully put out the fire in about 5 hours by both spraying water and using nitrogen.
Footage of the fire (which looked like lava) quickly went viral on social media, where people referred to it as an “eye of fire” and “portal to hell.”
🚨 Sobre el incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México, en la Sonda de Campeche, a unos metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Tres barcos han apoyado para sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/thIOl8PLQo
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
🚨 Incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México
A 400 metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Una válvula de una línea submarina habría reventado y provocado el incendio
Esta fuera de control hace 8 horas pic.twitter.com/KceOTDU1kX
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
Here’s a sampling of the hot takes that followed:
Never in your life forget the time humans caught the ocean on fire and then tried to put it out by spraying water on it. https://t.co/W7D5Qezfp3
— Judge Dave Anthony PsyD, PHD, MD, Esquire. (@daveanthony) July 2, 2021
“Never in your life forget the time humans caught the ocean on fire and then tried to put it out by spraying water on it,” Tweeted podcaster Dave Anthony.
Our official stance is we do not think the oceans should be on fire.
— The Good Liars (@TheGoodLiars) July 3, 2021
Pretty sure that is Godzilla https://t.co/8HhABfTM8R
— Robert Littal BSO (@BSO) July 2, 2021
I am not sure how spraying water on a fire that is literally in the ocean is going to help put it out. I need someone to make it make sense for me.
— Christopher Bouzy (@cbouzy) July 2, 2021
Just a hunch, but maybe when you set the ocean on fire, it means you’ve gone too far.https://t.co/zV6Coyxs0f
— Trish Zornio (@trish_zornio) July 3, 2021
It appears hell has opened up in the Gulf of Mexico.
— Kate 🤍🇺🇸 (@ImSpeaking13) July 2, 2021
I saw the ocean caught on fire today. How they gon spray on more water?
— Big 🐰 (@FreddieGibbs) July 3, 2021
we're over here trying to recycle our cans and they're setting the ocean on fire and summoning the eye of sauron pic.twitter.com/vTIqAO0rzb
— Tori Bedford (@Tori_Bedford) July 3, 2021
Oh cool they've opened the portal to Hell. https://t.co/556blZqZcI
— Eyes on the Right (@EyesOnTheRight) July 2, 2021
“Pemex said no injuries were reported, and production from the project was not affected after the gas leak ignited around 5:15 a.m. local time,” Reuters reports. “It was completely extinguished by 10:30 a.m. Pemex, which has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities, added it also shut the valves of the 12-inch-diameter pipeline.”
Mexican oil safety regulator Angel Carrizales of the ASEA took to social media to state that the leak didn’t result in any kind of spill into the Gulf of Mexico, though exactly what caught fire remains unclear. Pemex says it has launched an internal investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.
