UK oil giant BP has released video taken by a remote-controlled camera showing oil and gas gushing out of one of the ruptured pipes nearly 1.5km underwater in the Gulf of Mexico.

The 30-second clip posted on the US Coast Guard website gives the public a first look at the source of the massive oil spill now spreading across the US coast.

The footage shot on May 11 shows the larger of two leaks on the riser of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, which exploded on April 20, spewing million litres of oil into the sea.

The leaking pipe shown in the video is located approximately 140 metres from the top of a safety device known as the blowout preventer, and rests on the sea floor. (May 13, 2010)