HAMMOND, La. (AP) _ BP says a mile-long tube is drawing most of the oil away from a well that’s spewed millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.
BP spokesman Mark Proegler said Sunday that the contraption was hooked up successfully to a tanker at the surface as crews gained partial control on the leak for the first time. Proegler said it was sucking most of the oil from the leak.
The tube was carefully placed into the 21-inch piping at the seafloor by engineers gingerly steering deep-sea robots.
The company has spent three weeks trying to contain the leak that’s been fouling the Gulf of Mexico, and the latest effort had several setbacks.