BP Oil Spill Live Feed Update: Oil Spill Finally Out
People watching the BP Live feed are happy to see that the oil is finally put out. The event happened 85 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes after the first report of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
State authorities estimates tat around 94 million to 184 million of oil had been leaked into the Gulf of Mexico before it was stopped at approximately 2:25pm Central Daylight Time (CDT). Engineers have successfully and gradually dialed down the amount of crude escaping through the last of three valves in the cap.
BP had not yet declared victory over the oil spill saying that they still have to monitor whether the oil cap can really withstand the pressure in the next 48 hours. There were also mix reactions elsewhere. "That's great. I think a lot of prayers were answered today," Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said upon hearing of the news.
"We're still in the testing phase," says President Barack Obama but while he cautioned calling it a victory he also sees it as one of the most positive developments in the recent weeks.
Biologists and scientists assessed that there could be thousands of animals affected by the oil spill. At least 300 to 400 pelicans and hundreds of terns in the largest seabird nesting area along the Louisiana coast had already been affected. Besides these areas there are many nesting areas near the Gulf coast but were also affected are left in place and not counted in official tallies.
There was another good news to celebrate, fifty-six endangered Kemp's ridley turtles were released on a beach at Florida's Canaveral National Seashore this week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Thursday.
Investigation as to the cause and other facts that lead to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is still underway. The official investigation will resume next week and is extended by five more days from July 19-23, in a New Orleans suburb.
The next update directly from BP will be provided at around 9:30am CDT on July 16, 2010.
