Photo: DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty

Workers in boats try to clean up floating oil near gulls in the Talbert Marshlands as a 3,000-barrel oil spill, about 126,000 gallons, from an offshore oil rig reaches the shore and sensitive wildlife habitats in Newport Beach, California on October 3, 2021.

At a news conference held on Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore revealed that the underwater pipeline that leaked approximately 126,000 gallons of oil was split open,NBC Los Angelesand CBC Newsreported. Divers found a 13-inch gash in the 4,000-foot section of the pipeline that had been displaced nearly 100 feet off the coast, Ore shared, NBC reported.

“At its widest point is about 105 feet away from where it was. So, it is kind of an almost semicircle,” Willsher explained, CNN reported. Officials are still investigating to determine a definite cause.

The U.S. Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request to comment further.

At this time, a cause of the split has not been confirmed. Apreliminary reportfrom the Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration states that an anchor possibly hooked the pipeline, creating the partial tear.

Allen J Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Shutterstock

Major oil spill in Huntington Beach

David Pettit, senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council who worked on the Deepwater Horizon response and other spills, toldNBC Newsthat several factors will be analyzed for damage assessment.

As the public awaits answers, locals are urged to stay away from the area and refrain from recreational activities near the coast as clean-up efforts take place.

The oil spill was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday, officials said in atweet. About 3,000 barrels, or approximately 126,000 gallons, of oil spilled off the California coast, prompting officials to close the area.

The city of Huntington Beach announced in apress releasethat the Coast Guard “is the lead agency coordinating the response into the spill incident, and the investigation into how the spill occurred.“Officials saidthat Beta Offshore, a California subsidiary of Houston-based Amplify Energy Corporation, is responsible for the oil and working closely to assist in clean-up efforts.

DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty

This aerial picture taken on October 3, 2021 shows oil and an oil containment boom in the water of the Talbert Marshlands area from an offshore oil rig as it reaches the shore and sensitive wildlife habitats in Newport Beach, California.

On Monday night, California Gov.Gavin Newsomissued astate of emergencyin Orange County as personnel from the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services assist with cleanup and mitigation.

source: people.com