The U.S. authorities have launched a criminal probe into the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
An explosion ripped through the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) off the Louisiana coast, on April 20, causing a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil continues to gush from the broken well into the sea despite a month of work to stop the leak.
On May 29, U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Louisiana on Friday to supervise clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, which currently involve some 20,000 people.
He pledged to triple the number of people involved in clean-up operations in areas along the Gulf of Mexico and reiterated that the British Petroleum company operating the stricken rig was responsible for the disaster.
According to estimates by specialists, the oil spill is affecting around 20 protected areas of the United States and threatens some 40 types of marine mammal.
Oil spill under control
© RIA Novosti . Sergey Yelkin
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The U.S. authorities have launched a criminal probe into the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
