BP tries tube to siphon spewing Gulf oil to tanker

Undersea robots tried to thread a small tube into the jagged pipe that is pouring oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday in BP’s latest attempt to cut down on the spill from a blown-out well that has pumped out more than 4 million gallons of crude. Company engineers were trying to move the 6-inch tube into the leaking 21-inch pipe, known as the riser. The smaller tube will be surrounded by a stopper to keep oil from leaking into the sea. BP said it hopes to know by this evening if the tube succeeds in siphoning the oil to a tanker at the surface.