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Sri Lanka works to clean oil slicks near capital
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka deployed hundreds of coast guard and navy personnel on Monday to clean oil slicks on a coastal stretch near the capital following a spill caused by a pipeline leak.
Saumya Ekanayake, a spokesman for the government’s Marine Environment Protection Authority, said the leak occurred Saturday night in a pipeline carrying oil from tankers to a storage facility on the land, releasing about 25 tons of furnace oil. The leak occurred off Uswetakeiyawa, a coastal town about 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Colombo.
The leak caused oil slicks in a coastal stretch of about 2 kilometres (1 mile), Ekanayake said.
About 300 navy and coast guard personnel were deployed to clean the area.
Ekanayake said the leak had stopped, but that it would take two or three more days to complete the cleaning task.
He said the authority was investigating the incident.
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