'Top kill' BP operation to half US oil leak fails

[whoosh]

The latest attempt to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil leak has failed, the oil giant BP has said.
BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the firm was now shifting to a new strategy to stop the spill.
In the failed procedure - known as "top kill" - the firm had been blasting waste material into a ruptured well, after pumping heavy mud into it.
The worst oil spill in US history began when a drilling rig exploded last month, killing 11 people.
The thick crude has already permeated more than 70 miles (110km) of Louisiana's coastline, threatening fragile wetlands and putting the vital fishing industry at risk.
New operation
Mr Suttles said BP had determined that the "top kill" method - which had been going on since Wednesday - had failed after studying the results for three days.
"We have not been able to stop the flow," he told reporters on Saturday.
The BBC's Andy Gallacher in Louisiana says the failure is another blow for the region.
BP says the next option - called the lower-marine-riser-package cap - involved an underwater robot using a saw to hack off the leaking pipe and place a cap over it.
The operation is expected to last four days.

 

[Mitchell_A]

Honestly, this is a perfect example of the inability of Americans to handle a real world disaster.
Military can't help you here.
Over 35 days, like really?
Well maybe not Americans specifically, but the world as a whole.

 

[whoosh]

Honestly, this is a perfect example of the inability of Americans to handle a real world disaster.
Military can't help you here.
Over 35 days, like really?
Well maybe not Americans specifically, but the world as a whole.

It is just about the worst disaster in peace time to hit America . It will takes years to clean up the mess . Plus the loss of livelihoods is immense due to the fishing grounds and tourist hot spots along the coast being hit .

 

[Mitchell_A]

It's the immense loss of wildlife and destruction of marsh lands that bothers me the most.
To see dead birds washed up on the beaches, covered in oil, it's... disgusting.
British Petroleum is going to be facing billions of dollars in total costs, from clean-up to lawsuits.

 

[whoosh]

Yes all the above as well . It is taking such a long time to find a means to stop the flow of oil .
It may be years before the clean up is fully effective . The loss of life and habitat is immense . I should imagine some creatures will be bought to the edge of extinction , if not made extinct .