Tropical Storm Nate heads for Mexico

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico -- Authorities on Mexico's Gulf coast prepared Saturday for the arrival of a strengthening Tropical Storm Nate, while air and sea search teams hunted for 10 oil workers missing since they abandoned a disabled research vessel in stormy waters.

Nate was still inching westward toward the coast, but was expected to pick up some speed Saturday, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters said the storm could be near hurricane strength when it approaches the coast today.

Meanwhile, forecasters said the remnants of Tropical Storm Maria had weakened and were barely a tropical cyclone, headed toward the Lesser Antilles at the eastern end of the Caribbean. Maria's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph.

Rain from what had been Tropical Storm Lee inundated a wide portion of Pennsylvania and other northeastern states, leaving at least seven dead.

Tropical Storm Nate led Mexico's state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, to use two ships to search for the missing oil workers. A port official said Friday that they comprised four Americans, four Mexicans, one from Kazakhstan and a 10th of unconfirmed nationality.

The workers, employees of Houston-based Geokinetics Inc., called for help Thursday afternoon after leaving a vessel known as a liftboat, the Trinity II, on an enclosed life raft.

"We're deeply concerned about the incident in the Gulf of Mexico involving our employees and others who had to abandon a disabled liftboat due to conditions brought about by Tropical Storm Nate," Geokinetics spokeswoman Brenda Taquino said.

A liftboat can lower legs to the sea floor, then elevate itself above the water level. This one was being used as a recording vessel and housing for the crew, and it was in waters about 25 feet deep.

Randy Reed, president of the vessel's owner, Trinity Liftboat Services LLC in New Iberia, La., was unavailable for comment Friday, said a person answering the phone at his office.

Reed earlier told the Advertiser newspaper in Louisiana that the rescue effort involved boats, helicopters and aircraft conducting a grid search of the area where the workers went missing in the Bay of Campeche.

"We're optimistic. They're good seamen. They're professionals at what they do," Reed said. "The life raft is out there, we just haven't found it yet. ... We're all working diligently to locate the raft so we can locate our loved ones."

The captain of the 94-foot, 185-ton Trinity II reported that the workers were abandoning the vessel about midday Thursday, and a ship several miles away also reported seeing the crew enter the life raft.

But there had been no communication since.

The Mexican navy said Friday night that sailors had reached the Trinity II and found no crew.