AG's Scratchin' Post

[Alex G]

Oil Spill Estimates Raised Fivefold

VENICE, La.—The Coast Guard said it found a significant new oil leak from a sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday. Separately, crews conducted a test burn to prevent the oil from spreading further. ...

The US Coast Guard has said five times as much oil as previously thought is leaking from a well beneath where a rig sank in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

Rear Admiral Mary Landry said 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day were now thought to be gushing into the sea 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana's coast.

A third leak had also been discovered at the site, Adm Landry said.

Earlier, a Coast Guard crew set fire to part of the oil slick, in an attempt to save environmentally fragile wetlands.

The "controlled burn" of surface oil took place in an area about 30 miles (50km) east of the Mississippi river delta, officials said.

Weather forecasters have meanwhile warned that changing winds could drive the oil slick ashore by Friday night.