Originally published on July 24, 2013<br /><br />A shallow-water well in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana blew out early on Tuesday, leading to a gas leak and fire, according to an official statement. The well caught fire late on Tuesday. It is not clear what caused the fire to ignite.<br /><br />According to Reuters, "Hercules Offshore, which owns the jackup rig that was drilling to prepare the Walter Oil & Gas well for production, said the company was working to regain control of the well.<br /><br />"The well is about 55 miles offshore in 154 feet of water.<br /><br />"The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said the well was flowing gas but no oil was being released. It added there was a 'light sheen' a half mile by 50 feet across that was dissipating.<br /><br />"Authorities have tightened safety regulations since the BP Plc 2010 Macondo blowout and oil spill that spewed more than 4 million barrels of crude into the Gulf."<br /><br />Reports said a 500-metre exclusion zone has been enforced around the well. <br /><br />The Federal Aviation Administration is restricting aircraft to no lower than 2,000 feet above the area.<br /><br />Coast Guard cutter Pontano has arrived near the rig and another, Cypress, is enroute.<br /><br />As yet there is no word on how or when the well will be shut down.<br /><br /><br /><br />TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.<br /><br />For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:<br />https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS<br /><br />Stay connected with us here:<br />Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS<br />Google+ http://gplus.to/TomoNewsUS
