Ship’s anchor among possible causes of California oil spill

An aerial photo shows the closed beach after oil washed up on Huntington Beach (Ringo HW Chiu/AP)

Officials are looking into whether a ship’s anchor may have struck a pipeline on the ocean floor, causing a major leak of crude oil into waters off Southern California.

The head of the company that operates the pipeline said that divers have examined more than 8,000 feet of pipe and are focusing on “one area of significant interest”.