A pipeline failure off the coast of Orange County, California, Saturday caused at least 126,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Pacific Ocean, creating a 33-square-kilometer slick that continued to grow Sunday, officials said.
Dead fish and birds washed ashore in some places as cleanup crews raced to try to contain the spill, which created a slick that extended from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach.
It was not immediately clear what caused the leak, which officials said occurred about 5 km off the coast of Newport Beach and involved a failure in a 28-km pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform called Elly that is operated by Beta Offshore.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.