‘Thousands of litres of diesel’ spilled near Galapagos Islands

A ship carrying 47 diesel barrels sank off the coast of one of Ecuador’s ecologically sensitive areas

State-run oil firm Petroecuador has confirmed a ship carrying diesel fuel sank on Saturday off one of Ecuador’s ecologically sensitive Galapagos Islands.

Local authorities assumed that nearly 7,500 litres of diesel were on board the ship at the time of the accident.

The company said as part of an emergency plan, containments booms were set up around the area of the oil spill in a bid to control it and mitigate the impact of the shipwreck.

The Galapagos National Park said there was a presence of a fuel stain at several points of the bay and the water activities were suspended at some sites.

Galapagos Islands are a protected wildlife area and home to unique species of flora and fauna.

The area is also home to giant tortoises.

Petroecuador added that it has been decided as a preventive measure to carry out an additional control on all vessels that come to supply fuel.

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