BP removes failed blowout preventer from damaged Gulf well

Source: CNN

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- BP removed the failed blowout preventer from atop its plugged well deep below the Gulf of Mexico, the company said Friday.

The device was detached at 1:20 p.m., BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said, and a vessel was slowly raising it from its position thousands of feet below the surface.

The removal "appears to have gone very smoothly and as planned," Beaudo said. He added that steps also are being taken to reposition a drilling rig over the well site, in preparation for attaching a replacement blowout preventer on the well.

Joint investigation teams, engineers and the Department of Justice are closely monitoring the status of the blowout preventer, as it may hold important forensic evidence as to why it failed on April 20, triggering the world's largest accidental oil spill after a deadly explosion killed 11 workers aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/03/gulf.oil.disaster/index.html

Now plug the damn thing.