Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement

f5dbcfed8e131f11740f6a7067001556.jpg

FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file photo by Gerald Herbert, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico. Rig fires happen with some regularity, but when word came that the rig was listing badly after an explosion the night before, New Orleans-based Herbert raced to a small airport and grabbed the first helicopter pilot he could find. Together with a photographer from the Times-Picayune newspaper, the three headed out in a four-seat helicopter with only enough fuel to get to the site and shoot for a few minutes. "You could see it for miles," Herbert recalled. The smoke "started appearing through the haze as a thick blob,” he said. "As we got closer, we realized how immense it was. The smoke was actually higher than us, and we were circling around it trying to avoid it." Hovering at 4,000 feet _ the lowest authorities would allow them to fly _ the three were struck by the scale of the unfolding disaster. "The enormity of it did not escape us, because you could see that what looked like a tiny little burning ember was a massive oil platform. You could see oil in the water," Herbert said. The images were the first from what would become the nation’s worst offshore spill. The rig would sink within three days of exploding, and the oil would flow unchecked for nearly three months. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

FILE - In this April 21, 2010 file photo by Gerald Herbert, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico. Rig fires happen with some regularity, but when word came that the rig was listing badly after an explosion the night before, New Orleans-based Herbert raced to a small airport and grabbed the first helicopter pilot he could find. Together with a photographer from the Times-Picayune newspaper, the three headed out in a four-seat helicopter with only enough fuel to get to the site and shoot for a few minutes. "You could see it for miles," Herbert recalled. The smoke "started appearing through the haze as a thick blob,” he said. "As we got closer, we realized how immense it was. The smoke was actually higher than us, and we were circling around it trying to avoid it." Hovering at 4,000 feet _ the lowest authorities would allow them to fly _ the three were struck by the scale of the unfolding disaster. "The enormity of it did not escape us, because you could see that what looked like a tiny little burning ember was a massive oil platform. You could see oil in the water," Herbert said. The images were the first from what would become the nation’s worst offshore spill. The rig would sink within three days of exploding, and the oil would flow unchecked for nearly three months. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Featured Photo Galleries

01-Army parade.png

Military parade celebrates Army’s 250th

Cheers and chants rang out Saturday from a crowd of thousands as soldiers manned modern and historic tanks and aircraft for the Army’s 250th anniversary celebration in the District.

20250330 Sabatini-Caps-Sabres 001.jpg

Ovi scores goal 890, Caps lose to Sabres 8-5

Alexander Ovechkin scored goal number 890, but the Washington Capitals fell short, losing to the visiting Buffalo Sabres Sunday afternoon 8-5 at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., March 30, 2025 (Photos for the Washington Times.)