US President Barack Obama will set up a commission to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico, officials say.

美国总统奥巴马将建立一个特别委员会，调查墨西哥湾原油泄漏事故。

They say the panel will also examine industry practices and the government's role in the disaster.

The news comes as a top coast guard official warned the leaking oil may reach the southern Florida coastline.

Separately, the oil giant BP says it plans to start pumping large amounts of mud into the damaged oil well in an effort to（试图，企图） close it altogether.

Oil has been spewing（喷涌，呕吐） into the Gulf since BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April.

BP said on Monday it was managing to funnel² the equivalent（等价的，想等的） of 1,000 barrels a day of oil from the well to a tanker³ ship with the use of a mile-long tube.

That would amount to a fifth of the estimated daily spill of 5,000 barrels - an estimate made by the coast guard and BP.

Resignation

Mr Obama would establish a presidential commission by executive order, White House officials were quoted by news agencies as saying.

The officials, who spoke⁴ on condition of anonymity⁵（在匿名的情况下） , said the commission would be similar to panels created to investigate the space shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979.

It would also study oil industry practices, rig safety, regulation and governmental oversight⁶, including the functions of the Minerals Management Service (MMS) - the agency responsible for regulating offshore⁷ oil drilling.

Meanwhile, senior MMS official Chris Oynes said on Monday that he would step down at the end of this month.

Mr Oynes has been accused of becoming too close to the industry his agency monitors, the BBC's Madeleine Morris in Washington reports.

However, there has been no official comment on the reasons for Mr Oynes' resignation.