NEW ORLEANS -- The Philippine ambassador says one of the men critically burned in an offshore oil platform fire has died in Louisiana.

The ambassador, Jose L. Cuisia Jr., says in a news release that 49-year-old Avelino Tajonera died Friday, shortly after his wife and three children arrived from Manila.

Three other men remain hospitalized. The ambassador says their families are in Baton Rouge.

The explosion and fire Nov. 16 also killed 42-year-old Ellroy Corporal, whose body was found in the waters nearby. The search for another man, 28-year-old Jerome Malagapo, was called off.

The embassy quotes Consul General Herrera-Lim as saying three Filipino workers who survived the fire are back in Manila after giving statements to federal authorities investigating the fire.

Associated Press