Brazilian president says oil leak origin unknown

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday that the origin of the massive oil leak polluting the country's northeastern region remains unknown.

"We still do not know where the oil is coming from," said the president in his weekly Facebook live stream, stressing that the leak is maleficent and government agencies are investigating the cause of it and working with local residents to clean up the spill.

The oil leak, which started in early September, has reached almost 300 beaches in all of Brazil's nine northeastern states. So far, over 1,000 tons of oil have been removed.

Bolsonaro said he may visit the northeastern region next week and announce new measures to tackle the problem.