Obama's Sombre Oil Leak Prognosis

US President Barack Obama has described a sprawling oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as a "potentially unprecedented" environmental disaster. Speaking in Louisiana, he said US government would do whatever it takes to clean up the oil, adding that BP was responsible and must pay.

Obama said the focus was now on preventing any further damage to the Gulf coast.

"We're dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster. The oil that is still leaking from the well could seriously damage the economy and the environment of our Gulf States. And it could extend for a long time. It could jeopardise the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who call this place home," BBC qotes him as saying.  

The president said the slick was now nine miles (14km) off the coast of south-eastern Louisiana. And he warned: "BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill."

BP says it will be at least a week before temporary measures to stem the leak are in place. But it could take up to three months to drill relief wells that could fully contain the spillage, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar warned on Sunday.

The BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig sank on 22 April, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers.