Face of suffering in BP’s disaster ocean

Fighting for survival ... pelican covered in oil

A PITIFUL pelican lies mired in oil - doomed to die unless hard-pressed rescuers can reach it in time.

Its plight is a drop in the ocean of devastation caused by the massive BP spill which is America's worst-ever environmental disaster.

Hands on ... The Sun's Pete

Austin Hargrave

Yesterday, The Sun visited the Louisiana Delta to witness the suffering of wildlife - and the anger of locals who say BP is not doing enough to stop the oil spreading.

It is almost seven weeks since the Deepwater Horizon rig blast 100 miles away sent an estimated 35 million gallons of crude oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

BP admits the leak will continue until August. And it will get worse.

Slick work ... rescuer Kerry

Two days ago, there was hardly any oil in the rich marshlands south of New Orleans, which supply 40 per cent of America's seafood. By yesterday, parts were almost lifeless.

The Sun joined charity the Sierra Club as Wildlife and Fisheries technicians such as Kerry Champaign did their best to save birds engulfed in brown sludge.

Fisherman David Iverson, who acted as our captain, said: "Look at this oil - they should never have let it get here. It just requires some organisation, but they're dragging their heels."

Locals have only just rebuilt their lives after Hurricane Katrina struck five years ago.

Now the community, which lives almost entirely off the waters, is seeing people lose thousands of pounds a week. The shrimps, oysters and other fish that provide their livelihoods are assumed dead.

Fisherman Hewitt Gautier, 51, said: "I lost my house, my brother's house and my boat in Katrina. This place is now screwed for the rest of my lifetime.

Pelican grief ... bird can't flap its wings

Getty

"It's not just the fishermen - it's restaurants, hardware stores, grocers. Everything."

Shrimper Kerry Despaux, 50, added: "We're on our knees again."In desperation, many have taken clean-up jobs with BP. But some have ended up in hospital suffering sickness and respiratory problems, feared to have been caused by chemicals used to disperse the oil.BP chief executive Tony Hayward is now a figure of loathing. The British firm's boss has claimed the spill is "relatively tiny" - and said the illness was food poisoning.One US newspaper has branded him "the most hated - and clueless - man in America".The US Government has now launched a criminal probe.Local leader Billy Nungesser, who urged President Obama to step in, said: "It's a disgrace.