According to KSAT-TV, an oilfield worker badly injured in an Eagle Ford rig explosion near Tilden, TX, on October 24th, has died. KSAT-TV reported the man, identified as 50-year-old Roel Rodriguez, passed away on Saturday at San Antonio Military Medical Center. Rodriguez was one of five workers injured in the explosion. At this time, the condition of the other workers is unknown.

Pioneer Natural Resources was named as the owner of the rig involved in the explosion. According to the company, the fire ignited as the workers were conducting a procedure on the rig.

Are Eagle Ford Workers Safe?

Unfortunately, oilfield injuries and fatalities have been on the rise in Texas since 2007.

Read more: Are Eagle Ford Workers Safe?

In late February of 2014, the Houston Chronicle reported 65 oil and gas workers were killed on the job in 2012 alone in Texas, and at least 18,000 workers suffered amputations, were crushed, burned, broke bones, got cut, or reported other work-related illnesses or injuries between 2008-13.

The sad fact is there is an irrefutable correlation between the oil & gas renaissance in Texas and injuries and fatalities among oilfield workers. In 2008, Texas produced ~1.1-million b/d crude oil, but by 2013, that figure had skyrocketed to ~2.5-million b/d, according to the Energy Information Administration.