USCG Estimates 10-12 Days to Stop Barataria Bay Spill
July 30, 2010
Pictured here is an aerial photo of smoke billowing from a wellhead after a towing vessel's dredge barge allided with the structure in Barataria Bay, La., as the vessel and barge exited Mud Lake, July 27, 2010. The barge was en route to the towing vessel's facility in Berwick Bay when the incident occurred. More than 150 response personnel and 31 boats responded to a mixture of oil and gas emanating from the wellhead. Official U.S. Coast Guard photoPictured here is an aerial photo of smoke billowing from a wellhead after a towing vessel's dredge barge allided with the structure in Barataria Bay, La., as the vessel and barge exited Mud Lake, July 27, 2010. The barge was en route to the towing vessel's facility in Berwick Bay when the incident occurred. More than 150 response personnel and 31 boats responded to a mixture of oil and gas emanating from the wellhead. Official U.S. Coast Guard photo
According to a report from Reuters, the U.S. Coast Guard estimated it will take 10 to 12 days to seal a ruptured wellhead spewing oil and natural gas into Barataria Bay along Louisiana's south coast. The wellhead was ruptured early July 27 when a barge collided with it. An oil slick covering six square miles had spread from the wellhead by Wednesday.