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| Oil Spill Near Chennai, India, Threatens Wildlife | Oil Spill Near Chennai, India, Threatens Wildlife |
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| NEW DELHI — Thousands of volunteers and Indian Coast Guard personnel were working on Friday to clean sludge from shores near the southern city of Chennai nearly a week after an oil spill that activists said could have dire repercussions for wildlife and fishery. | NEW DELHI — Thousands of volunteers and Indian Coast Guard personnel were working on Friday to clean sludge from shores near the southern city of Chennai nearly a week after an oil spill that activists said could have dire repercussions for wildlife and fishery. |
| Officials disagreed about who was to blame for the failure to contain the spill. Commandant Rahul Dev Sharma, a local spokesman for the Coast Guard, said on Friday that at least 20 tons of oil had leaked into the Bay of Bengal. | |
| The spill occurred before dawn Saturday after two tankers, one empty and the other carrying petroleum, collided about 1.5 nautical miles from Chennai, Commandant Sharma said. | The spill occurred before dawn Saturday after two tankers, one empty and the other carrying petroleum, collided about 1.5 nautical miles from Chennai, Commandant Sharma said. |
| Port officials noticed oil on the water’s surface that evening, but thought it was a minor leak from one of the ships, said Atulya Mishra, environment secretary for the state of Tamil Nadu, which includes Chennai. But by Sunday, oil was billowing toward the coast, most of it collecting at the fishing village, Radhakrishna Nagar, Mr. Mishra said. About 25 miles of coastline were affected, he said. | Port officials noticed oil on the water’s surface that evening, but thought it was a minor leak from one of the ships, said Atulya Mishra, environment secretary for the state of Tamil Nadu, which includes Chennai. But by Sunday, oil was billowing toward the coast, most of it collecting at the fishing village, Radhakrishna Nagar, Mr. Mishra said. About 25 miles of coastline were affected, he said. |
| “Clearing the sea of the sludge is a never-ending process,” Mr. Mishra said. “We have 2,000 people on the ground manually trying to empty the sea of the sludge, and also machines.” | |
| The Tamil Nadu fisheries minister, D. Jayakumar, told the state assembly earlier in the week that only one ton of oil had leaked, The Indian Express reported. | The Tamil Nadu fisheries minister, D. Jayakumar, told the state assembly earlier in the week that only one ton of oil had leaked, The Indian Express reported. |
| Mr. Mishra said the Coast Guard should have reacted sooner to the spill. “Had the spill been contained by the Coast Guard as soon as the spill started, while it was still at sea, we would not have seen such vast amounts of sludge near the tidal areas,” he said. “But now that it is on land, the state departments have to do the job.” | Mr. Mishra said the Coast Guard should have reacted sooner to the spill. “Had the spill been contained by the Coast Guard as soon as the spill started, while it was still at sea, we would not have seen such vast amounts of sludge near the tidal areas,” he said. “But now that it is on land, the state departments have to do the job.” |
| Commandant Sharma, the Coast Guard spokesman, said that the size of the spill made it the port’s responsibility. | Commandant Sharma, the Coast Guard spokesman, said that the size of the spill made it the port’s responsibility. |
| The spill threatens a population of Olive Ridley sea turtles that have been nesting on the Chennai coast for 40 years, said V. Arun, coordinator of the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network. The turtles are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Mr. Arun said he had seen turtles and crabs “smothered by oil” on the shore near Chennai. | The spill threatens a population of Olive Ridley sea turtles that have been nesting on the Chennai coast for 40 years, said V. Arun, coordinator of the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network. The turtles are listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Mr. Arun said he had seen turtles and crabs “smothered by oil” on the shore near Chennai. |
| M. D. Dayalan, president of the Chennai-based Indian Fishermen’s Association, said many of the estimated 100,000 fishermen in villages along the coast have had to leave the area. |