Obama In Mississippi To Visit Oil-hit Gulf

14th Jun 2010 17:19

GULFPORT (AFP) -- President Barack Obama arrived Monday in the Gulf of Mexico region at the start of a two-day visit to the oil-hit southern states. Air Force One landed in Gulfport, Mississippi, just after 1515 GMT, the first stop on the trip which will also take Obama to Alabama and Florida. In Gulfport, Obama will meet again with Coast Guard admiral, Thad Allen, who is in charge of the U.S. response to the country's worst oil spill. Obama was also briefed by Allen on his three previous visits to the area since the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig, just off the Louisiana coast, exploded on April 20 and sank two days later. (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 14, 2010 12:19 ET (16:19 GMT)