Government hearings investigating the cause of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico resumed Saturday as BP officials revealed that the “top kill” was failing to stop the flow of oil, according to news reports.

BP engineers said the “top kill,” which began Wednesday, was being suspended again while the company reviews its next move.

BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said the method may be halted altogether.

“What I don’t know is whether it ultimately will or not,” he said Saturday, according to reports.

Adm. Thad Allen, in charge of the response efforts, and members of the Minerals Management Service, the federal agency responsible for monitoring oil drilling, heard additional testimony on the cause of the explosions from the Deepwater Horizon rig’s crewmembers on Saturday in Kenner.

Paul Meinhart III, the motorman for the rig, testified that emergency generators that might have helped stop the fire aboard the rig did not work after the first explosions, news reports said. He also said that his efforts to restart the generators failed.

Engineers spent Friday working on the “top kill” effort after the operation was stopped Wednesday and then again early Friday morning. Engineers discovered on Wednesday that much of the mud being pumped into the leak in the wellhead was flowing back out and on Thursday that “junk shots” being pumped into the hole also were not working.

Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer, said BP would continue to flood the leak with mud and debris for the next 24 to 48 hours and monitor the effect on the oil’s flow. He added that they would not put a time limit on the operation.

The AP reported that BP brought in about 2.5 million gallons of mud for the top kill procedure. Suttles said on Thursday evening that “junk,” including pieces of metal and rubber balls, was infused into the mix.

On Friday, BP and U.S. government officials made separate public appearances to talk about the crisis.

Tony Hayward, chief executive officer of BP, appeared on both “Good Morning America” and “The Early Show.” He told “Good Morning America” that “things are going pretty well.”

Responding to an increase in concern over the crisis, President Barack Obama arrived in New Orleans Friday morning for his second visit to the Gulf Coast since the explosion five weeks ago.

“I’m here to tell you that you are not alone, you will not be abandoned, you will not be left behind,” Obama said during his visit.

Accompanied by the governors of Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, and by Allen, the president began his tour of the area by visiting beaches in Port Fourchon, where it was reported that he picked up tar balls and reflected on the oil’s threat to the beaches and the region’s economic livelihood. He later traveled to Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish for a briefing with Allen.

The government estimates anywhere from 18 million to 40 million gallons of oil has leaked thus far from the well, making it the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

News of the latest efforts to contain the spill come on the heels of the resignation of Elizabeth Birnbaum, an official in the Department of the Interior who oversaw offshore drilling regulation, and Obama’s announcement of major temporary restrictions on offshore drilling. According to the White House, the new regulations suspend exploratory drilling off the East and West Coasts. Planned explorations for oil have been indefinitely postponed. Along the Gulf Coast, 33 exploratory rigs were ordered to halt production as well.

The spill has also shined light on major environmental concerns about the impact of the spill on aquatic life.

Thursday, University of South Florida scientists said they have found another large cloud of oil below the surface in the Gulf. The plume, which is the second significant undersea plume discovered since the oil spill, stretches 22 miles from the explosion site and is 6 miles wide and approximately 3,300 feet below the surface. It is also near an underwater canyon the helps feed sea life off the Florida coast.

Scientists in the College of Marine Science said the plume might be a result of the use of chemicals to break up oil at the site of the leak, news reports said.

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