Coast Guard rescues 19 after rig collapses in Gulf of Mexico

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. - The Coast Guard rescued 19 people from the Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday after a leg collapsed on a moveable gas rig about 20 miles south of Mobile. Six were taken to hospitals. <br> <br> The Coast Guard in Mobile received a distress call about 5 a.m. from the vessel Luke David, which serves as a mobile rig to drill for gas. Crew members initially reported the vessel was listing and taking on water, then a leg collapsed, knocking all 19 crew members into the choppy sea, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Gabe Solomon said. <br> <br> Several Coast Guard vessels, from Dauphin Island and Mobile, arrived on the scene about an hour and a half later and recovered the 19 crew members from the water. Six of the crew members were air lifted to Mobile hospitals suffering from various injuries, including broken bones and hypothermia, Solomon said. <br> <br>