Efforts on to cap leaking US oil well

Robotic underwater vessels raced to stave off an environmental disaster by stopping 42,000 gallons of oil a day from streaming into the Gulf of Mexico from a sunken rig.

A slick measuring 77km by 63km at its widest points has developed 48km off the Louisiana coast since the rig sank last week following an explosion that apparently killed 11 workers.

British energy giant BP, which leases the stricken Deepwater Horizon platform, has been using four robotic submarines to try to fully activate the giant 450-tonne blowout preventer and shut off the flow of oil. But BP officials suggest the unprecedented operation, being conducted remotely a mile down on the seabed, is a longshot and admit they may have to resort to drilling relief wells, a process that would take far longer.

"It is possible that it could take two to three months for a relief well to be drilled," said Bill Salvin, a spokesman at the joint information centre set up by BP and US-based platform contractor Transocean.

Salvin also mentioned a "worst-case scenario" that would see recovery teams "lose total control of the well" and cause the oil to start leaking at a much quicker rate. He said it should be clear by yesterday evening if the submersible robots have been able to activate the blowout preventer.

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