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Deepwater Horizon oil rig: fire
Fireboat response crews attempting 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 rig—located approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana—suffered 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.