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A state of emergency has been declared in southern California after two large oil slicks formed off the coast near to Santa Barbara.
The spill, which covers a total of nine miles, was caused by a ruptured onshore pipeline which broke yesterday, said the BBC.
An estimated 400,000 litres of oil may seep into the sea, it said. No estimate for the amount of time it will take to clean up the oil has been given.
Emergency workers are combing Refugio State Beach, remove oil from sand and rocks.
California Governor Jerry Brown declared the state of emergency yesterday so the US state could ‘quickly mobilise all available resources’.
"We will do everything necessary to protect California’s coastline," said the Governor.
