US Oil Spill

DISASTER IN THE GULF

Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day may be now be leaking into the water after last week's explosion on a BP-operated rig, which then sank.

While officials believe they can get this huge slick under control, environmentalists are deeply concerned, with some experts predicting a disaster on a huge scale spanning three or four American states.

A coastguard crew has set fire to part of the oil slick in an attempt to save environmentally-fragile wetlands. Also, a "controlled burn" of surface oil took place in an area about 30 miles (50km) east of the Mississippi River delta. Meanwhile,engineers are working on a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but it may be weeks before this is in place. It is feared that work on sealing the leaking well using robotic submersibles might take months. Currently, eleven workers are missing and presumed dead after last week's explosion.

The oil spill threatens hundreds of species. Louisiana's coast contains some 40% of the nation's wetlands and spawning grounds for countless fish and birds.

AFP news agency reports that two Louisiana shrimpers have filed a lawsuit accusing the operators of the rig of negligence, and seeking at least $5m (£3.3m) in damages plus undetermined punitive damages. Under US law, BP will be expected to meet all the costs of the spill clean-up operation.

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