Obama visits relatives of 11 who died in Gulf oil rig explosion

US President Barack Obama met Thursday the families of the 11 workers killed by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico to offer his condolences. The April 20 blast went on to cause the worst oil spill in US history.

By News Wires (text)

AP - US President Barack Obama on Thursday offered condolences for the "unimaginable grief" suffered by relatives of the 11 workers who died in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

The White House said that the president had individual meetings with family members of the victims of the April 20 incident that triggered an oil slick which is now America's worst environmental disaster.

"The President expressed his condolences and told them that he, the First Lady and the entire administration are behind them and will be there long after the cameras are gone as they go through their unimaginable grief," the White House said in a statement.

"He also said that while offshore drilling is a part of our nation's overall energy strategy, he simply could not go forward with new deepwater drilling until we have the proper safety measures in place to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again."

The meetings in the White House were also attended by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Obama's top energy advisor Carol Browner, his political aide Valerie Jarrett and Admiral Thad Allen, the Gulf disaster response chief.