United States officials have announced a ban on fishing for at least ten days in waters off Louisiana spanning to parts of the Florida panhandle as the oil slick from a leak spreads across the Gulf of Mexico. Rough weather conditions are complicating crews’ efforts to contain the oil slick.
State of Florida Governor Charlie Crist declared on Friday a state of emergency in coastal counties because of the threat from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Oil started washing ashore on the US Gulf Coast from a leaking offshore well, the US Coast Guard reported. Up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day are thought to be spilling into the water after last week's explosion on a BP-operated rig (NYSE:BP), which then sank.
An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that caught fire after an explosion on Tuesday night has now sunk, the US Coast Guard has said. A search is continuing for 11 missing workers after the blast at the Deepwater Horizon rig. The other workers on the rig, off Louisiana, were evacuated to the US.