New Mexico oil rig blows out, injuring 3

New Mexico oil rigblows out, injuring 3
CARLSBAD, N.M. -- An oil rig blew out this morning, bursting into flames and injuring three workers, one critically.
A crew was working on the Timber Sharp Rig No. 10, owned by Pogo Pro of Midland, Texas, when it blew out at about 7:20 a.m., state police Lt. Larry Rogers said. The cause was unknown.
Three men suffered thermal burns and "we have an oil rig completely engulfed in flames," he said. Nearby fuel tanks were threatened, and the heat was so intense crews could not get close to fight the fire, he said.
Drilling was at the 8,385-foot level at the time of the blast.
The men were taken to Carlsbad Medical Center, where they were stabilized for helicopter transfer to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital, Carlsbad hospital spokeswoman Simona Bibby said.
Authorities evacuated nearby workers, Rogers said.
"We have some concerns with a tank nearby with 7,600 gallons of diesel fuel that may very well go," he said. "We have 450 gallons of motor oil that may very well go."
In addition, the area also contains 300 gallons of a hazardous chemical called magnafiber, used as a hardening agent in well holes, he said. "Something major malfunctioned to cause this," Rogers said.
Four die in shootingat seniors' complex
CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- An elderly man who was being evicted from an apartment complex for senior citizens shot and killed three people there before committing suicide, police said.
Shots were fired at the Congregational Tower at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and officers were fired upon as they arrived at the scene, said police Sgt. David Eisenberg.
Officers found the bodies of a woman and a man inside the building's lobby. Two other bodies were found on the upper floors.
Eugene Molter, 68, was found with a gun in his hand and an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
The other victims were identified as resident Ariel Ibarra, 72, and complex managers Patricia Carignan, 60, and her husband Albert Carignan, 65, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
One officer suffered minor injuries, but police declined to say how he was wounded.
Britain woos touristsfearful of disease
LONDON -- British officials are trying to reassure tourists deterred by pictures of burning animal carcasses and tales of rural meltdown, saying foreign news media and even governments have sent misleading messages about the foot-and-mouth epidemic.
Brian Wilson, a junior Foreign Office minister, said potential visitors have been put off by "misinformation and misconceptions" about the 7-week-old epidemic of the livestock disease.
"The problem isn't the reality. The problem is perception," said Wilson, who met Wednesday with ambassadors from the United States and other major tourist nations to discuss ways of easing the worries of prospective visitors.
Foot-and-mouth disease "is a big problem for British agriculture, and a tragedy for many farmers and individual businesses," he said. "But it's a huge leap to say it's something that impacts upon visitors to this country."
A highly contagious livestock ailment, foot-and-mouth disease poses no threat to humans and rarely kills animals. But it can have disastrous consequences for a country's exports -- and it is hurting tourism in Britain.
The British Hospitality Association estimated the epidemic could cost British tourist businesses more than $7 billion by summer, including $4.3 billion from foreign tourists and $2.9 billion from British travelers.
Short Concorde flight
PARIS -- A supersonic Concorde, grounded and in the hangar for months, made a control flight Wednesday from Paris and back at subsonic speed, in preparation for a trip to southern France for a battery of tests.
The Concorde left Charles de Gaulle airport at about 4:30 p.m. and returned 2 1/2 hours later, Air France said. Such control flights are routine for aircraft that have been out of use.
All Air France and British Airways Concordes were grounded after the fiery July 25 crash outside Paris that killed 113 people.
France's civil aviation authority said Tuesday that it had given special flight authorization for an Air France Concorde to fly to a test base in Istres for air and ground tests of the aircraft equipped with new tires. The aviation authority had said the trip to Istres, in the Marseille region, would be preceded by a control flight.