The United States Coast Guard said Saturday that oil is leaking from a damaged well that fed a rig that exploded last week of the coast of Louisiana, the Star Tribune said.
The bad weather in the area has prevented clean-up efforts, and fears of the damage to the area's marine ecosystem have increased.
Officials say the leak could have begun as early as Thursday, only two days after the explosion, the New York Times reported.
The Coast Guard and officials estimate that more than 1,000 barrels of oil has escaped each day. A sheen of oil has grown at alarming rates as well, and now stretches over 20 miles wide and long on Saturday.
The rig could have as much as 700,000 gallons of diesel on board.
BP, which released the rig, has taken the lead in the cleanup and said it has started an oil spill response to clean up the spill.
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