At least 18 people were killed and seven went missing late Tuesday night when an oil drilling platform hit a rig, in the Gulf of Mexico.

The accident occurred when huge waves hit the drilling platform into a rig.

Mexico's oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said that 61 out of 86 workers from the Usumacinta oil rig were saved. The platform where the accident occurred is 20 miles from the port of Dos Bocas, state of Tabasco.

At the time of the collision, the workers jumped into emergency rafts. The bad weather has been thwarting rescue workers for hours and the death count could rise. Gusts of wind were reported at up to 80 mph and waves up to 19-26 feet at the time of the accident.

Eight helicopters and four rescue boats were sent out by the Mexican navy in search for survivors. Exploration and Production Chief Carlos Morales said that this is the worst accident in Pemex history.

Because of the bad weather three of Mexico’s top oil exporting ports in the crude-rich Golf of Mexico had to be shut down for another day in a row, thus suspending shipments of oil to the U.S. The officials said that no sooner than Thursday will they reopen it.

Pemex said that it will take three to five days to seal the leak of natural gas and oil.

Out of the 18 workers who died four were Pemex employees, seven of them were employees of the subcontractor company, one was a rescue boat crew member and six of them worked for other companies. Among them was one woman. The search is on for seven missing workers.

According to media sources, President Felipe Calderon issued a statement declaring his “most sincere condolences and solidarity in this moment of pain” to the victims’ families and offered any kind of help that could be provided by the government.