Fuel oil spill shuts several beaches in Spain's Gran Canaria
By Borja Suarez
TELDE, Sept 5 (Reuters) -An oil spill off the Spanish island of Gran Canaria forced local authorities to close several beaches in the popular holiday destination on Thursday and declare an environmental emergency.
Emergency services said on social messaging platform X that they were alerted on Wednesday night of the accidental spill during a vessel's refueling stop at La Luz port of Las Palmas, the island's capital. It involved a maximum of 3 metric tons of IFO 180, which is designated as a Very Low Sulphur Oil.
The name of the vessel was not disclosed.
According to the president of Gran Canaria's governing council, Antonio Morales, the oil slick was approximately 2 km (1.2 miles) long and 400 m (1,300 feet) wide.
Morales said the slick was moving south towards the neighbouring Telde municipality, pushed by winds. Currents were so far preventing it from affecting a nearby drinking water production plant, but it was still unclear whether the oil would reach land.
The beaches of La Restinga, Palos, San Borondon and El Baranquillo were closed to the public as the oil approached the coast, Telde's town hall said on X, while a helicopter, drones and a maritime rescue boat were helping emergency services manage the spill.
"This contamination sadly has a considerable magnitude, which is why so many resources have been deployed," Telde's mayor Juan Antonio Pena told Reuters.
"Something like this is preventable. We will demand accountability because it harms the environment and we cannot allow it to ever happen again," Pena said.
Reporting by Borja Suarez; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Angus MacSwan
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
