HOUSTON -- Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are requesting a briefing from the company behind the deadly Nov. 16 offshore oil platform explosion and fire in the Gulf of Mexico, following reports of a likely third fatality suffered in the accident.

Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations LLC, a rising operator based in Houston, confirmed over the Thanksgiving holiday that one worker hospitalized in the incident has died from his injuries. The body of another worker was found near the platform days after the explosion, and a third person remains missing more than one week later.

Black Elk executives earlier said they would continue to search for the missing contractor even after the U.S. Coast Guard called off its search, but the company's search was also suspended a week ago. All three victims are reportedly contractors from the Philippines.

The company said it is continuing an investigation into the explosion in conjunction with government investigators. The explosion and fire occurred on a shallow-water oil and gas production platform roughly 20 miles southeast of Grand Isle, La.

"We were very saddened to learn Avelino Tajonera, one of the workers injured in the Nov. 16, 2012, incident, passed away last night, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family," the company said in a statement posted Friday. "We continue to work in close cooperation with government officials to understand exactly what happened in this incident."

According to the Embassy of the Philippines in Washington, the other worker confirmed dead is Ellroy Corporal, whose body was discovered by divers underwater next to the platform. The missing employee's name is Jerome Malagapo.

Yesterday, five Democratic members of the House sent a letter to Black Elk CEO John Hoffman requesting a meeting before Dec. 10 to discuss what caused the fatal accident and what the environmental ramifications may be.

The rig fire, which was quickly put out, resulted in a leak of a relatively small quantity of crude oil into the Gulf. A wider environmental disaster was averted because the platform was shut in at the time and not producing any oil or natural gas.

A Coast Guard investigation determined that the blaze was sparked when workers used a blowtorch to cut through a pipe that still had residual oil in it.

In their letter, the members of Congress lamented the House's failure to pass new legislation that was drafted in the wake of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig accident and oil spill that they said would have improved safety in the offshore energy industry. The "Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act," or "CLEAR Act," was voted out of committee, but the proposed legislation hasn't advanced since.

The letter was signed by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee, specifically Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).

"In order to better understand how and why this incident occurred, we ask that you provide our staff with a briefing on the explosion, its possible causes, and any remedial efforts your company intends to take as a response to this incident," the letter reads. "We understand that you are currently focused on responding to this emergency but would appreciate your assistance in scheduling this briefing by December 10, 2012."

Federal heat

Black Elk is facing stiff scrutiny from federal offshore regulators.

On Wednesday, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) posted a notice on its website blasting Black Elk for a string of safety violations that incurred over the past two years. BSEE said the company was cited 156 times for incidents of noncompliance so far this year and 99 times last year.

BSEE said it had ordered Black Elk to shut in some of its operations 12 times since 2010. The agency said it only metes out such strict citations in cases "when a violation is considered severe or threatening to the safety of personnel or the environment."

BSEE has given Black Elk until Dec. 15 to submit a detailed performance improvement plan to the government. Failure to comply could result in the company's losing all privileges to operate in federal waters.

A Coast Guard incident report that was made public says the accident was triggered when workers "cut into a line coming from a wet oil tank."

"The line was supposed to be purged prior to working," the Coast Guard report says. "When they started cutting the line with a torch it caused an explosion."