July 06, 2020 | 19:15 (GMT+7)
Hundreds of people relocated following oil spill in Philippines
More than 400 people in a coastal village of central Philippines were evacuated after about 250,000 litres of bunker fuel spilled from a power-generating barge into the sea.
The cleansing of the waters and the coastline is underway. However, the stench was so bad that people had to move away to two schools, Mayor of Iloilo City Jerry Trenas said, adding that there was a request for a third evacuation site on July 5.
He noted that the incident has not affected power supply to the commercial city of about half a million people because it has other power sources.
The spill began on July 3 when an accidental explosion on the barge blasted a hole in its hull. There were no reported injuries.
The Philippine coast guard is investigating the case.
In August 2013, half a million litres of diesel fuel leaked into Manila Bay, which affected over 30 villages in Cavite province, hurting the country’s fishing industry and posing potential health and environmental hazards.
Source: VNA