The Deepwater Horizon incident
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico follows an explosion and fire aboard Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on Tuesday 20 April at approximately 10:00 pm US central time. The rig was drilling 130 miles south east of New Orleans.
Of the 126 people on board, 11 are missing, feared dead, and 17 were injured, three of them critically. BP's Group Chief Executive Tony Hayward said: "On behalf of all of us at BP, my deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends who have suffered such a terrible loss. Our thoughts also go out to their colleagues, especially those who are recovering from their injuries."
At the time of the incident, the contractor Transocean Ltd was drilling an exploration well on Mississippi Canyon Block 252. BP has a 65% interest in MC252.
The rig subsequently sank on Thursday 22 April and an extensive spill response operation was activated, involving more than 2500 people, a fleet of vessels, aircraft, dispersants and booms.
BP Group Chief Executive Tony Hayward discusses the operation with a US Coast Guard
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The Deepwater Horizon incident
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