An oil rig off the coast of Australia burst into flames on Nov. 1 causing an irreversible environmental catastrophe. The millions liters of oil was spilled into the Timor Sea in August.

“The damaged West Atlas rig, situated 125 miles off the coast of West Australia, caught fire during the latest attempt to plug the leak which covered an area of at least 5,800 square miles in the ocean,” Times online informs Nov. 2.

According to the Australian Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson, the rig's Thai-based operators PTTEP Australasia would make another attempt to stop the spill by filling the well with heavy mud. The company said the only way to extinguish the blaze was to plug the well casting, which was 25 cm in diameter, more than 2 miles under the sea bed.

“The measures which we have been able to take so far can only mitigate the fire, they will not stop the fire,” the company's chief financial officer Jose Martins said.

"About 400 barrels of oil a day have been leaking from the West Atlas oil well since it ruptured August 21. So far the spill has cost the company $177 million. Conservationists estimated that the oil covered an area of at least 5,800 square miles and described the incident as an “environmental disaster”, Times reads.