'' Deepwater Horizon '' drilling rig explosion was the April 20 , 2010 , explosion and subsequent fire on the '' Deepwater Horizon '' semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit ( MODU ) , which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about southeast off the Louisiana coast . The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the '' Deepwater Horizon '' and the deaths of 11 workers ; 17 others were injured . The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico , considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world , and the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history
offshore oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon explosion