HOPE, Maine — The community is rallying around the family of a resident who died in an accident Tuesday morning on a ship that was preparing to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sam Whitley, 34, of Hope died aboard the Pacific Santa Ana, a drillship that was beginning drilling operations for Chevron. No details about the accident or cause of death have been released yet.
Whitley’s mother-in-law, June Brown of Hope, said her daughter Stacy is in Louisiana but she does not know when she will return. Burpee Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home of Rockland is handling the arrangements. Nothing is scheduled yet.
Brown said no one has provided information to Stacy about how her husband died. Whitley lived with his wife and their three young children in Hope and travelled for work.
Brown said Whitley had been working for the company for about a year and he was planning on coming home in a couple weeks.
A gofundme account for the family of Sam Whitley has raised $20,215 from 170 individuals in 22 hours, according to the website. Seventy-seven people also have volunteered to provide meals to the family through Dec. 12 on mealtrain.com.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement responded to the fatality in the Gulf of Mexico approximately 200 miles south of Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 4,800 feet of water, according to a statement from the agency. The incident occurred just before drilling began, according to the agency.
Bureau and U.S. Coast Guard inspectors traveled to the ship Tuesday afternoon and began collecting evidence and taking statements. The incident will be investigated by both the bureau and Coast Guard.
The bureau’s news release stated that no other injuries were reported and that personnel remained on the ship, though drilling operations had been shut down.
Messages left with both agencies concerning the status of the investigation were not returned Thursday.