Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Deepwater Horizon oil rig fire
Fireboat response crews attempt to extinguish the blaze aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010.
Deepwater Horizon Disaster: Five Years Later
On April 20, 2010, the largest marine oil spill in history took place in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rigâlocated approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisianaâsuffered a catastrophic explosion on April 20, 2010, that caused the rig to sink two days later. Over the subsequent months it released nearly five million barrels of oil into the gulf.