After an explosion on the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico 5,000 barrels of raw oil gush every day in the sea endangering seriously the environment of the region.

On 22 April, the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, the rig sank and the rupture of the line is bringing 5,000 barrels of raw oil every day into the seawater. The 2.6 million gallons of oil is floating in the sea, coming dangerously close to the U.S. shore. The States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida could face a major natural disaster if the oil reaches the coast. The poisoned area might be substantial and the effects can last for years as at the mostly marshy coast, the tidal action is weak and soil is oxygen poor.

For the past 12 days, the authorities tried to stop the leaking without much success. President Obama visited the area on Monday and Pentagon promised to send 17,000 National Guard troops to the area. Meanwhile, there were attempts to halt the gush of oil but so far, all of them were ineffective. On Tuesday, BP announced that they would attempt to drown a four-story, 100-ton, 40 foot-tall metal container to the leaking pipe to collect the flowing oil. This method has been used in shallow water but now the depth is 5,000 feet, at the bottom of the ocean.

This catastrophe is already affecting the local businesses. In the gulf in many communities, fishing and oyster production constitute a substantial part of the local’s income. BP announced that they would take full responsibility for what happened and the company in a press release stated that “BP is committed to pay legitimate and objectively verifiable claims…loss and damage caused by the spill.”