Heavy oil hits Louisiana's fragile marshland

The developments underscored the gravity of the situation as British energy giant BP Plc raced to capture more crude gushing from a ruptured well a mile (1.6 km) beneath the surface. The spill is threatening an ecological and economic disaster along the US Gulf Coast and beyond.

"The day that we have all been fearing is upon us today," Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said after a boat tour to the southernmost point of the Mississippi River estuary.

"This wasn't tar balls. This wasn't sheen. This is heavy oil in our wetlands," he told a news conference. "It's already here but we know more is coming."

Officials had previously reported debris in the form of tar balls, or light surface "sheen" coming ashore in outlying parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

The marshes are the nurseries for shrimp, oysters, crabs and fish that make Louisiana the leading producer of commercial seafood in the continental United States and a top destination for recreational anglers. The United States has already imposed a large no-fishing zone in waters in the Gulf seen affected by the spill.

Meanwhile, the US government's top weather forecaster said a small portion of light sheen from the giant oil slick had entered the Loop Current, which could carry the oil down to the Florida Keys, Cuba and even up the US East Coast.

BP, its reputation on the line in an environmental disaster that could eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, has marked some progress at siphoning some of the oil from the well, which ruptured after an April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers.

BP said it is now siphoning about 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons/477,000 liters) a day of oil, out of what the company estimated was a 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) a day gusher. The company could begin injecting mud into the well as early as Sunday in a bid to permanently plug the leak; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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