France sents teams to Mauritius as oil spillage problem deepens.
It has been reported that France on Saturday sent some aircraft and also technical advisers to Mauritius after the Mauritius prime minister asked for urgent help to control the pollution caused by the oil spillage on the island nation’s famed reefs, oceans and lagoons.
Pravind Jugnauth their prime minister declared “a state of environmental emergency” on Friday when there was no signs of the oil spillage reduction into the coral reefs, the lagoons and also white-sand shores on which the country has built its reputation as a tourism destination.
The prime minister also said that their country does not have the skills and expertise to re-float the stranded ships, so he asked for help from France and its president, Emmanuel Macron. He also included that “The sinking of the Wakashio represents a danger for Mauritius
France President Macron on Saturday said teams and equipment were being deployed from nearby Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean, to assist in what Mauritian authorities are calling an unprecedented environmental disaster for the nation.
“When biodiversity is at risk, there is an urgent need for action. France is there. At the side of the Mauritian people,” Macron posted on Twitter.
A military aircraft from Reunion would make two rotations over the spill site on Saturday with specialist pollution control equipment and experts aboard, the Prefecture of the South Indian Ocean Defence and Security Zone said in a statement.
The tanker, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, was carrying 3,800 tonnes of fuel and 200 tonnes of diesel when it struck a reef at Pointe d’Esny, an internationally-listed conservation site near the turquoise waters of the Blue Bay marine park.
The environment ministry announced this week that oil had begun seeping from a crack in the hull, confirming the worst as volunteers rushed to the coast to prepare makeshift containment booms as the major slick drifted nearer.
