Oil spill damage three beaches in Rio de Janeiro state
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) – Emergency cleanup crews were summoned to three Rio de Janeiro state beaches yesterday after about 2,000 litres (530 gallons) of oil spilled from a ship, authorities said.
More than 50 truckloads of oil-contaminated sand had already been removed from the Boa Viagem, Flechas and Icarai beaches in Niteroi, a city facing Rio de Janeiro across the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro state’s environmental agency, or Feema, said.
The spill was under control, but the cleanup effort was not expected to end until today. About 80 people were working on the beaches.
The oil leaked from a Bahamas-flagged ship that suffered a small rupture on its hull in a minor accident Saturday as it approached a shipyard.
Niteroi city officials said the ship owners will likely be fined for the spill, local media reported.
Feema officials were still checking if the spill had also reached sensitive mangrove swamps in Guanabara Bay.
