For ten weeks a crippled oil rig has been leaking millions of gallons into the ocean off the coast of Australia.

Light crude oil has been pouring into the Timor Sea every day as engineers tried in vain to plug the well, deep below the seabed.

The blowout is thought to have been caused by a fracture in a pipe.

Environmental groups say satellite photos show the oil has spread across more than 9,000 square miles.

They estimate some nine million gallons have poured into the ocean.
That's nearly as much as the 11 million gallons that escaped from the Exxon Valdez in Alaska.
"...(there is) horror, of course, that such an accident could have occurred and of course the questions start, what caused it, what does this mean," said Rachel Siewert, Australian state senator.

Sea birds, whales, porpoises and sea turtles have been reported feeding near the oil. But there is no count of wildlife killed or injured.