BP says ‘top kill’ has plugged gulf oil leak
Engineers say they have temporarily stopped oil and natural gas from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. On Wednesday afternoon, oil industry and government experts pumped drilling fluid into the leaking BP well. The “top kill” process is not yet complete, but when it is, the pressure in the well will be reduced to zero—at which point engineers can begin pumping cement and debris into the hole. The cement will, they hope, seal off the well. “We’ll get this thing under control,” vowed U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, on Thursday morning.