GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- A cap was seated atop a blown-out Gulf well but the volcano of oil obscured it from view early Friday making it impossible to tell if BP's latest attempt to curtail the nation's worst spill was having any success. Robots a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico positioned the inverted funnel-like lid over the...
View full sizeThis image taken from video released by BP LLC shows oil gushing during efforts to cap the Deepwater Horizon oil well in the Gulf of Mexico Thursday.GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) -- A cap was seated atop a blown-out Gulf well but the volcano of oil obscured it from view early Friday making it impossible to tell if BP's latest attempt to curtail the nation's worst spill was having any success.
Robots a mile beneath the Gulf of Mexico positioned the inverted funnel-like lid over the main pipe on the leaking well on Thursday night. Live video footage, though, showed that the oil seemed unimpeded. BP spokesman Toby Odone said he had no immediate information on whether the cap was successfully attached.
The placement was a positive step but not a solution, said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the disaster.
"Even if successful, this is only a temporary and partial fix and we must continue our aggressive response operations at the source, on the surface and along the Gulf's precious coastline," Allen said in a statement.
A rubber seal on the inside of the cap will attempt to keep oil from escaping, though engineers acknowledge some crude will still come out. The plan is to capture most of the spewing oil and bring it to a surface ship.
» Watch BP streaming video of its attempts to cap the leak
» 'Furious' Obama heading to Gulf for spill update [The Associated Press]
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