Mauritius residents and environmental workers work to contain oil spill

10 Aug 2020

Mauritius residents and environmental workers work to contain oil spill

Mauritius residents and environmental workers work to contain oil spillMauritius has declared a state of emergency after a ship had an accident around a coral reef area and began spilling tons of fuel.

The ship, from which the oil spill happened is called MV Wakashio. It is owned by a Japanese company. It was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel.

Mauritius is home to world-renowned coral reefs. Thousands of species around Mauritius' lagoons are in danger. A lagoon is a stretch of salt water separated from the sea by a low sandbank or coral reef.

Many environmental activists and locals are working around the clock to try to stop the oil spill from damaging the coral reef and killing marine life. Locals are making barriers of straw-stuffed into fabric sacks to absorb the oil.

Mauritius has appealed for international help to fight this disaster. France has provided a military aircraft with pollution control equipment.

Japan has said it would dispatch a six-member team to assist the French efforts. The company that owned the ship apologised on Sunday for the accident. However, questions are being raised about the delay in removing the ship from the site.

Recommended for Secondary Grades

Mauritius has declared a state of emergency after a ship had an accident around a coral reef area and began spilling tons of fuel. The […]

To read more...

Share your comment! Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

To post your comment Login/Signup