BP engineer arrested in Gulf spill probe The US government has filed its first criminal charges in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, accusing a former BP engineer of intentionally destroying evidence about the size of the disaster. Kurt Mix, 50, was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice in a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of Louisiana and unsealed on Tuesday. Additional criminal charges against individuals are expected in connection with the spill. The charges against Mr Mix do not touch on the central question of responsibility for the disaster, which could be brought against BP employees or the company itself. Attorney General Eric Holder said Mr Mix allegedly deleted records relating to the amount of oil flowing from BP's stricken Macondo well after the April 2010 explosion that triggered the disaster. "The Deepwater Horizon Task Force is continuing its investigation into the explosion and will hold accountable those who violated the law in connection with the largest environmental disaster in US history," he said. The blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig killed 11 men and triggered the worst offshore oil spill in US history. Authorities say that in August 2011, after learning that his iPhone was about to be imaged by a vendor working for BP's outside counsel, Mr Mix allegedly deleted a string of more than 100 text messages with a BP contractor concerning how much oil was flowing from Macondo after the blowout - despite receiving a number of legal hold notices requiring him to preserve such data. The flow rate from the well is of critical importance because it determines the penalties that BP can face under the 1973 Clean Water Act. BP has already produced its own calculations to challenge the frequently-used US government estimate that 4.9m barrels gushed from the well. Meanwhile the civil trial over damages and penalties arising from the spill is likely to be delayed until the end of the year at the earliest, after BP agreed a settlement with lawyers representing fisherman and others who lost money as a result of the disaster. If convicted, Mr Mix faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 as to each count.