Gulf oil spill: Lowering the cofferdam

Underwater videos of spectacular Gulf oil leaks are like buses, it seems. After waiting more than two weeks for footage of the leak caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion , two short clips have been posted to YouTube in the space of two hours. The video above shows the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to lower a huge metal containment tower over one of the three leaks. Engineers were attempting to pump off oil using the 100 tonne cofferdam, but have since switched their efforts to golf balls, shredded tyres and a top hat after a build-up of crystallised gas blocked pipes in the structure. Deepwater Horizon Unified Command , the body linking organisations responding to the spill, posted the video showing engineers' attempts to install the cofferdam on its YouTube channel this morning. Earlier, the organisation had succumbed to pressure from media and government agencies and posted a clip of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico .