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Ships and aircraft from Sri Lanka and India intensified efforts to extinguish a fire on an oil tanker for a second day on Friday as officials warned of significant environmental damage to Sri Lanka's coast if the ship leaks or explodes.
The tanker, carrying nearly two million barrels of crude oil, was drifting about 40km (22 nautical miles) from the coast, army chief Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said on Friday. A navy spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva, said there were 23 crew on board, one of whom is presumed dead.
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At present, the vessel is being held by the salvage team in deep-sea 35kms (21.7 miles) east of the Sri Lankan town of Pottuvil, de Silva said.
"It will take another four to five days to completely put out the fire," Jayaratne added. "Thereafter we should be able to tow it away and let the owners decide what they want to do."
However, head of Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority, Darshani Lahandapur, warned that if a leak or explosion occurs, "it could be a huge environmental disaster for the whole world".
She said Sri Lanka does not have the resources or capacity to combat such an enormous disaster.
Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...140448069.html
The tanker, carrying nearly two million barrels of crude oil, was drifting about 40km (22 nautical miles) from the coast, army chief Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said on Friday. A navy spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva, said there were 23 crew on board, one of whom is presumed dead.
-snip-
At present, the vessel is being held by the salvage team in deep-sea 35kms (21.7 miles) east of the Sri Lankan town of Pottuvil, de Silva said.
"It will take another four to five days to completely put out the fire," Jayaratne added. "Thereafter we should be able to tow it away and let the owners decide what they want to do."
However, head of Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority, Darshani Lahandapur, warned that if a leak or explosion occurs, "it could be a huge environmental disaster for the whole world".
She said Sri Lanka does not have the resources or capacity to combat such an enormous disaster.
Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/...140448069.html