The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has entered the Loop Current, a powerful conveyor belt that flows clockwise around the Gulf towards Florida, the European Space Agency said.
Scientists monitoring the massive slick via ESA satellites say that oil has for the first time hit the current and is likely to reach Florida within six days.
"We have visible proof that at least oil from the surface of the water has reached the current," said Bertrand Chapron, a scientist at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea.
A satellite image from May 18 shows a long tendril of the spill extending down into the Loop Current, which will drag it south towards coral reefs in the Florida Keys, he said.
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