Metairie (Louisiana, US), June 3: BP sliced off a pipe with giant shears on Thursday in the latest bid to curtail the worst spill in US history, but the cut was jagged and placing a cap over the gusher will now be more challenging, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said.
BP turned to the shears after a diamond-tipped saw became stuck in the pipe halfway through the job.
The cap will be lowered and sealed over the next couple of hours, Adm Allen said.
It won’t be known how much oil BP can siphon to a tanker on the surface until the cap is fitted, but the irregular cut means it won’t fit as snug as officials had hoped. — AP