New Orleans: No crude oil was leaking on Friday
from the oil well or rig that sank in the Gulf of Mexico after
its platform exploded, a US Coast Guard commander said, easing
fears of possible environmental catastrophe.
"I am saying that there's no crude oil at this time
leaking from the crude head or riser adjacent to it," Rear
Admiral Mary Landry said to a news agency.
She said the Coast Guard was still searching for 11 rig
workers missing since the explosion.
Any oil spilled from the huge Transocean Deepwater
Horizon drilling rig that sank yesterday, 45 miles southeast
of the mouth of the Mississippi River, could threaten
Louisiana's fragile ecosystem that has already been stressed
by hurricanes and coastal erosion.
"Should we have any kind of leakage, we will be ready to
respond," Landry said, pledging authorities were also
preparing for "our worst case scenario."
PTI
First Published: Friday, April 23, 2010, 22:48