2nd Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico After Boat Crashes into Oil Well

The Gulf of Mexico and the coastline surrounding it has had its fair share of oil-leak related problems in recent months, and now it's about to get worse. During the early morning hours on Tuesday, a boat struck an oil well and now there is a second leak in the Gulf.

A barge collided with the well, shearing off its valve structure and releasing pressurized natural gas and light oil. The welli s located in Barataria Bay, which is south of New Orleans. According to the Jefferson Parish Homeland Security Director, Deano Bonano, the area has been evacuated and a US Coast Guard team is on its way to the accident site.

The USCG will be responsible for coordinating the response from command centers in Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans. Clean-up workers are currently using a boom to contain the spill, however, oil is still shooting up at least 20 feet in the air.

Bonano says that a contractor who handles the well is also on the way. Federal officials do not yet know who owns the well.