Colombo, Sri Lanka – For more than a week, daily life on Pamunogama Beach in the western province of Sri Lanka, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital
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When a chemical cargo ship sinks in Sri Lanka, locals fear the worst Environmental News
Colombo, Sri Lanka – It has been the same routine for more than a week on Pamunugama beach in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital Colombo.
Sri Lankan naval officers arrive in hazmatic clothing and begin collecting plastic pellets resembling fish that were washed ashore on May 20 after a fire broke out in a chemical cargo ship.
Authorities are now pushing for the possibility of an oil spill after the sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl Island, a Singapore-registered island off the nation’s west coast, in the worst environmental disaster man has ever committed.
Burnt-out Container Ship Sinking Off Sri Lanka By Amal JAYASINGHE
06/02/21 AT 8:46 AM
A burnt-out container ship that has already caused Sri Lanka s worst maritime environmental disaster was sinking Wednesday with nearly 350 tonnes of oil in its fuel tanks.
The MV X-Press Pearl, carrying hundreds of containers of chemicals and plastics, burned for 13 days just outside Colombo s harbour before rescue workers finally extinguished the blaze on Tuesday.
Dutch salvage firm SMIT attempted to pull the still-smoking wreckage of the 31,600-tonne vessel into deeper water on Wednesday but the effort stalled.
Navy spokesman Indika de Silva told AFP that the stern had sunk to the bottom at a depth of 22 meters (72 feet), near Pamunugama, just north of Colombo.