UPDATE: There is a major oil spill from the ruptured well of a large rig that exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week, the US Coast Guard said Saturday.
The Coast Guard estimated that up to 1000 of barrels of oil, or 42,000 gallons, were spewing each day from a drill pipe, prompting concerns of major damage to Louisiana's fragile ecosystem, already stressed by hurricanes and coastal erosion.
Officials confirmed the discovery a day after the Coast Guard said that no oil appeared to be leaking from the well head.
Coast Guard Eighth District commander Rear Admiral Mary Landry told reporters the leak probably began on Thursday, when the rig sank two days after an initial explosion tore through the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform.
With good luck the pipe rupture can be sealed off in a few days; the worst case scenario is several months. The Coast Guard said it would take several days before they determine how to stop the pipe leak 5000 feet below the ocean surface.
The oil sheen was now 20 miles in diameter about 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. Over 33,700 gallons of oily water mix have been recovered in the cleanup effort so far.
"This is a devastating spill," said Anne Rolfes, an environmental activist and founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which is prepariing for wild fowl rescues should the slick of crude oil and diesel fuel reach Louisiana's fragile coastal wetlands.
