<Table> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Deepwater Horizon oil spill </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td colspan="2"> The oil slick as seen from space by NASA 's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Location </Th> <Td> Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi River Delta , United States </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Coordinates </Th> <Td> 28 ° 44 ′ 17.30 '' N 88 ° 21 ′ 57.40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.7381389 ° N 88.3659444 ° W ﻿ / 28.7381389 ; - 88.3659444 Coordinates : 28 ° 44 ′ 17.30 '' N 88 ° 21 ′ 57.40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.7381389 ° N 88.3659444 ° W ﻿ / 28.7381389 ; - 88.3659444 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Date </Th> <Td> 20 April -- 19 September 2010 ( 4 months , 4 weeks and 2 days ) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Cause </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Cause </Th> <Td> Wellhead blowout </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Casualties </Th> <Td> 11 killed 17 injured </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Operator </Th> <Td> Transocean under contract for BP </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Spill characteristics </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Volume </Th> <Td> 4.9 million barrels ( 210,000,000 U.S. gallons ; 780,000 cubic meters ) ± 10 % </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Area </Th> <Td> 2,500 to 68,000 sq mi ( 6,500 to 176,100 km ) </Td> </Tr> </Table>
<Table> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Deepwater Horizon oil spill </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td colspan="2"> The oil slick as seen from space by NASA 's Terra satellite on 24 May 2010 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Location </Th> <Td> Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi River Delta , United States </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Coordinates </Th> <Td> 28 ° 44 ′ 17.30 '' N 88 ° 21 ′ 57.40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.7381389 ° N 88.3659444 ° W ﻿ / 28.7381389 ; - 88.3659444 Coordinates : 28 ° 44 ′ 17.30 '' N 88 ° 21 ′ 57.40 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.7381389 ° N 88.3659444 ° W ﻿ / 28.7381389 ; - 88.3659444 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Date </Th> <Td> 20 April -- 19 September 2010 ( 4 months , 4 weeks and 2 days ) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Cause </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Cause </Th> <Td> Wellhead blowout </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Casualties </Th> <Td> 11 killed 17 injured </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Operator </Th> <Td> Transocean under contract for BP </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th colspan="2"> Spill characteristics </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Volume </Th> <Td> 4.9 million barrels ( 210,000,000 U.S. gallons ; 780,000 cubic meters ) ± 10 % </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Area </Th> <Td> 2,500 to 68,000 sq mi ( 6,500 to 176,100 km ) </Td> </Tr> </Table>
what caused the oil spill in the gulf of mexico to happen
what caused the oil spill in the gulf of mexico to happen
Wellhead blowout
Wellhead blowout