VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - An army of workers toiled above and below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday to plug a gushing oil leak and protect the U.S. shoreline in one of the biggest spill containment efforts ever mounted.
Crews deployed miles of protective booms to block the huge slick and used dispersants to try to break up the thick oil as it slowly drifted near popular tourist beaches and fertile fishing grounds, threatening an environmental catastrophe.