LAPAZ, Philippines — Rescue workers battled on Wednesday to stop a huge oil spill from further polluting the central Philippine coastline as fishermen, smeared in the foul-smelling sludge, returned to shore with empty nets. "This is a major disaster. The natural marine sanctuary is destroyed. Tourism is greatly affected," Geary Barias, police director in the western Visayas region, told Reuters.
Fishing grounds, dive spots and a national marine reserve were contaminated and the livelihood of thousands of people threatened after a tanker carrying 2 million litres of bunker fuel sank off the coast of central Guimaras island on Friday. The provincial government has declared the tropical resort island a disaster zone and officials have warned that the spill, the largest to afflict the Southeast Asian country, could take three years to clear.
"It is very hard to recover the oil and the danger of the oil still coming out remains," Philippine Coast Guard chief, Vice-Admiral Arthur Gosingan, told a news conference. Officials have estimated that about 200,000 litres of fuel seeped from the submerged tanker, chartered by the Philippine' largest refiner Petron , producing a 20 nautical mile wide oil spill.
Some families have been moved away from the shores of Guimaras, about 470 kilometres (290 miles) south of Manila, as the industrial fuel, reeking of newly-cooked asphalt, washed up on beaches, staining sand and nearby trees. "We plan to leave this place temporarily because I cannot breathe," said 81-year-old Emiliano Tenaflor. Others remained behind to try to dam the thick, greasy liquid, using wood, bamboo, oil drums and tyres.
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