A breach of an oil rig pipeline led to a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand due to which a beach in the eastern region was declared a disaster area. The navy is currently working with Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (SPRC) to contain the leak as it said that the main oil mass was still offshore.
The pipeline which leaked is owned by SPRC.
It happened late on Tuesday and was brought under control when an estimated 50,000 litres of oil spilt into the ocean.
Rear Admiral Artorn Charapinyo, deputy commander of the first Naval Area command, while speaking to the reporters said, “We and the company are still working at sea to reduce the amount of oil by cornering the spill and sucking up the oil and spraying dispersant.”
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According to a report by Reuters, about 150 SPRC workers and 200 navy personnel have been deployed to the region in order to clean up the beach.
Also, twelve navy ships and three civilian ships are working to contain the spill at sea.
Earlier, a similar incident took place on the southern California coast and it was described as an “environmental catastrophe” by the mayor of Huttington Beach.
The oil spill left dead fish and birds strewn on the sand and offshore wetlands were clogged with oil.
An estimated 126,000 gallons, or 3,000 barrels, had spread into an oil slick covering about 13 square miles off the Pacific ocean.
The beachside city, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, was bearing the brunt of the spill.
(With inputs from agencies)
