Calif. Worker Killed During Oil Rig Construction

A California oil field worker has been killed when a support beam collapsed during construction of a new drilling rig in Ventura County.

Senior deputy medical examiner Crain Stevens tells the Ventura County Star that 34-year-old Oscar Zamudio of Bakersfield got pinned between the rig and beam.

Zamudio was working with a crew in the hills near West Fork Hall Canyon Road and Manuel Canyon Road northeast of Ventura when he was killed Monday evening.

Investigators say the Zamudio climbed up the rig to help two coworkers’ when the beam collapsed.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating the incident.