Status: 04/24/2022 04:07 am
A boat with around 7,500 liters of diesel fuel on board sank off the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific. The authorities are trying to contain the impact on the protected ecosystem.
Diesel spilled into the sea after a tourist ship sank off the Galápagos Islands. “In several places in the bay, a fuel carpet can be seen,” said the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment. The authorities laid out oil booms after the “Albatross” accident in the Academia Bay off the island of Santa Cruz, according to the national park administration. Efforts are being made to isolate released fuel.
The authority assumes that there were around 7,500 liters of diesel on board the ship at the time of the accident. The four crew members were rescued.
State oil company Petroecuador said the private ship sank in Puerto Ayora early Saturday morning carrying diesel. The national park administration later explained that the boat had been used for diving.
Sea area with unique flora and fauna
The Galápagos Islands belong to Ecuador and are located around 1000 kilometers west of the South American coast in the Pacific. The archipelago has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 because of its special flora and fauna. It is home to 198,000 square kilometers of protected marine area with unique flora and fauna. Species found only there include marine iguanas, land iguanas and Galápagos finches. In 1835 Charles Darwin visited the islands. His theory of the origin of species received a lot of food for thought there.