US escalates response as oil spill nears Gulf coast

By Chris Baltimore | China Daily | Updated: 2010-05-01 08:01

A boat deploys oil booms along Port East in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Louisiana, on Thursday. A massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico neared wildlife refuges and seafood grounds along the Louisiana coast, as efforts redoubled to avert one of the worst ecological disasters in the US. Sean Gardner / Reuters

HOUSTON - The US government ratcheted up efforts to avert an environmental disaster as a massive oil slick leaking from a ruptured well moved closer to the mouth of the Mississippi River on Thursday, menacing the delicate coastline of Louisiana and three other Gulf states.