Lawyers say oil rig workers asked to sign statement following Deepwater Horizon explosion

Lawyers: Rig workers asked to sign statement

Attorneys say workers aboard an exploding offshore drilling platform were told to sign statements denying they were hurt or witnessed the deadly blast.

Attorneys for Transocean workers say the men were greeted by a variety of company officials onshore asking them to sign statements that they had no “first hand or personal knowledge” of the incident.

Some of the men had been stranded for hours in life boats following the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon rig.

Transocean Ltd. was the owner of the rig. Spokesman Guy Cantwell refused to say whether Transocean or any company attached to the firm had supplied the statements, claiming it was inappropriate to comment on litigation.

The blowout and explosion killed 11 people and spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.