Video of Pipeline Burst Goes Viral, Shows Oil Bubbling Up in Arkansas Community

A member of ExxonMobil's cleanup crew is reflected in water and oil in a drainage ditch along State Highway 365 in Mayflower, Ark. , Monday, April 1, 2013. (Photo: AP/Courtney Spradlin)

An oil pipeline burst late last week in a suburban Arkansas neighborhood, forcing evacuation of residents. Clean-up continues this week with the physical impacts still being assessed, but a video from a homeowner showing the oil bubbling up from the pipe has gone viral, giving people a glimpse at the situation experienced by people in the area.

The homeowner driving in his car shows on the left-hand side of the road a steady stream of oil flowing from the site that ruptured Friday to a drain at the end of the street.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

"The smell is unbelievable," he said in the video.

Watch the footage where you can hear the oil coming up:

The ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline leaked in the city of Mayflower 20 miles northwest of Little Rock. About 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been recovered during cleanup in the time since.

A crew member with ExxonMobil washes oil from another crew member's boots at North Starlight Road in the Northwoods subdivision in Mayflower, Ark. , Monday, April 1, 2013. Other crew members are seen power washing oil from the street near the pipeline that ruptured and dumped several thousands of barrels of oil Friday. (Photo: AP/Courtney Spradlin)

On Monday Faulkner County Judge Allen Dodson said a couple of dead ducks and 10 live oily birds have been found.

An oiled duck recovered near the Bell Slough State Wildlife Management Area in Mayflower, Ark. , is rescued Monday, April 1, 2013 and prepared to be taken to HAWK Center, a wildlife rehabilitation group. (Photo: AP/Courtney Spradlin)

Investigators are still working to determine what caused the spill, which led authorities to evacuate nearly two dozen homes in a subdivision.

It's not clear when residents will be able to return to their homes, but Dodson said it could be within days for some people.

"Our focus is to protect the community," said Karen Tyrone, vice president of operations for ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. "We have air monitoring going on seven days a week, 24 hours a day ... and to date, we have no indication that there's a health impact on the community."

A worker starts to clean up the oil that threatened Lake Conway after a crude oil pipeline ruptured Friday afternoon, March 29. (Photo: AP/The Log Cabin Democrat, Angela Spencer)

Here is footage of crews working to clean up areas impacted by the oil's spread:

The pipeline that ruptured dates back to the 1940s, according to ExxonMobil, and is part of the Pegasus pipeline that carries crude oil from the Midwest to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.

Exxon spokesman Charlie Engelmann said the oil is conventionally produced Canadian heavy crude.

"Crude oil is crude oil," Dodson said. "None of it is real good to touch."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

(H/T: Business Insider)