Nightmare Scene of Oil Unfolding: Slick hits wetlands, threatens Florida

"With concerns mounting over lax federal oversight of the offshore oil drilling industry, top US Senate Democrats urged President Barack Obama to order "immediate and enhanced inspections" of drilling in US waters"

Agence France @ Common Dreams - Crude oil spread through fragile US marshlands Thursday, a month after a drilling rig blast released a devastating spill that now threatens Florida, Cuba and even beyond.

Oil has been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico since the massive April 20 explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 and ruptured an underwater well pipe.

While British Petroleum said Thursday that a tube was now siphoning away 3,000 barrels of oil a day from the leak, a nightmare scene was unfolding in Louisiana wetlands.

"The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Wednesday after seeing thick oil washing into the state's coastal marshlands.

Crude is also being dragged towards Florida's popular tourist beaches and fragile coral reefs, by an oceanic current that could wash oil ashore on the state's coastline in as little as six days, before carrying it up the US East Coast and even into the Gulf Stream. Related article: Scientists fear oil slick damage to Florida coral. Read more.