It was a nice day at Lake Peigneur in Luisiana on November 20th 1980. The beautiful lake is a popular destination for nature lovers and fishermen. The lake is crowned by a botanical park on the lake’s Jeferson Island. People would relax by the shore, take walks around the lake and in the park, go bird watching, enjoy boat rides and the like. However, not everyone came to enjoy the natural beauty…
The Arrival of the Oil Rig
An oil rig was erected on the lake recently. The platform was in the ownership of the Wilson Brothers corporation, hired by the Texico oil company. They started drilling in search of oil.
The Hidden Salt Dome Beneath the Lake
Beneath the lake was a giant salt dome. Salt domes are common in the United States, and they are good indicators that there could be oil in the area. As salt pushes upward it cracks the surrounding sediment layers. Many of those layers are made of sandstone or limestone which usually contain oil and gas. The dome first pushes and then traps the oil and gas.
Drilling Begins
The Wilson Brothers were supposed to drill down to these deposits of oil. So they built a huge platform (bigger than the depth of the lake) and their experienced workers started drilling once they had the coordinates of the supposed oil reserves. Even though their job comes with many dangers they had no idea what they were in for that day.
Disaster Strikes
Early in the morning, at around 6 A.M. their 14-inch drill got stuck at a depth of about 1,230 feet. This type of thing happens often and is nothing they haven’t seen a million times before. No matter what trick they tried they couldn’t get the drill loose. All of a sudden, the drill tilts quickly and with force as they hear loud pops. This was a clear sign that they should evacuate immediately.
They quickly cut free the barges holding the platform and go to the safe part of the lake by boat. Within a few minutes the entire platform sinks into the lake. Everybody watches in shock as a colossal platform disappears into a lake that’s 10 feet deep. Their boat starts to get pulled into the same location where their platform once stood. They manage to get to the shore on time and luckily all of the workers get saved.
The Whirlpool Consumes the Lake
That, however, is not the end of our drama. A giant whirlpool starts forming at the spot where they first started their shift. The water start pulling in near by boats, barges and even soil from the Jefferson Island, trees, buildings and even a parking lot are all sucked into the swirling water.
Peril Beneath
While all of this was happening, another drama was unfolding right below the water. Inside the already mentioned salt dome was a giant salt mine with 4 levels, going to the depth of 1,500 feet. Each level had tunnels that were 100 feet high and wide. The miners are especially careful when it comes to their safety and seeing any signs of water in their mine. The entire mine structure stands on pilers made out of the same material that they are mining. Any presence of water would mean that the salt will dissolve quickly and that their mine could collapse.
The Underground Escape
55 miners were working that day and most of them were at the lowest level. Their shift was disrupted by an unusual and loud sound coming from down the tunnel. Electrician Julius Gaddison went to check it out. He stepped into a knee-deep stream of water coming from the end of the tunnel. He immediately signaled for an evacuation. All of the workers calmly went towards the elevator. It only could take 8 people at a time and was pretty slow. To make things worse some of the workers at the bottom floor couldn’t get to it and had to use minecarts to get through the water. Thankfully everybody made it out to safety and all of the 55 miners saved themselves from the catastrophe that struck them.
Goblins Gluttony of Gems
Lucky for you, you don’t need to go down a dark mine into the depths of the earth in search of fortune. You can chill back relax and spin away on Goblins Gluttony of Gems. A perfect way to get to a shiny fortune without risking your neck. So let’s see what this game is all about.
Trigger the Hold & Spin feature by landing six or more Golden Coins, giving you 3 re-spins where new coins reset your count and can lead to the coveted Grand Jackpot if all 15 positions fill. The minecart Scatter symbol sparks Free Games, letting you choose between Wild Reels or Goblin Spins for added thrills.
- Volatility: Medium
- Paylines: 50
- Jackpots: Yes (Grand Jackpot up to 50,000× per line)
- Wild Symbol: Goblins (on reels 2 and 4, nudge to cover reel)
- Scatter Symbol: Minecart (3+ triggers choice of 2 Free Games features)
- Win Direction: Left to right on all paylines
If anyone knows where the treasures are buried, it’s these green digging fanatics!
The Mystery Behind the Error
In the end it is unknown how the error occurred as all the paperwork was lost in the water. Was it the engineers who gave the oilrig workers the wrong coordinates, the miners who provided them with faulty information in the first place or something else? What we do know is that human error could have ruined a lot of lives. Luckily everybody made it out okay in the end.