A major oil spill threatens the Mauritius islands with a real environmental disaster

ArabiaWeather - A new environmental disaster threatening marine life in Mauritius, as its coasts are subject to a major oil leak in Mauritius from a cargo ship that ran aground off its shores after colliding with coral reefs.

The authorities in Mauritius declared an environmental emergency, and appealed to France to provide urgent assistance to stop the oil spill from the ship "MV Wakachio" that ran aground two weeks ago, and the leak contaminates clean water in an environmentally sensitive area off the southeast coast of the island.

On Saturday, France sent "teams and equipment" from the neighboring island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, to provide assistance to the Mauritian authorities, according to a tweet by President Emmanuel Macron.

According to the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Macron wrote: “When biodiversity is at risk, there is an urgent need to act. France is at the side of the Mauritian people. ”That was the day after the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth, declared late Friday a" environmental emergency. "

The tanker, owned by a Japanese company but flying the flag of Panama, was loaded with 3,800 tons of oil when it collided with a people in Pointe Disney, the site on the list of marine reserves near the azure waters of the Blue Water Park.

Aerial footage showed the scale of the damage, with long distances of blue water contaminated with black spots from the leak.

Environmental experts fear that the ship will be exposed to more cracking and splitting, which could cause a larger leak and cause catastrophic damage to the beaches of the island, which is the pillar of the Mauritian economy.

The tourism sector in Mauritius depends on the beaches and seas that contain some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world.