Ben Pawlowski
AN oil spill off the coast of Gran Canaria has forced local authorities to close off several popular tourist beaches and declare an environmental emergency.
Experts have expressed fears over the health of the area’s marine wildlife after a maximum of three metric tons of IFO 180, a sulphur oil, spilt from an unnamed vessel near Las Palmas on Wednesday night whilst it attempted to refuel.
According to the president of Gran Canaria’s governing council, the oil slick produced by the spillage is approximately 2km long and 400 metres wide.
Antonio Morales also said the oil was moving south, pushed by winds, towards the neighbouring municipality of Telde where fears are mounting that the slick could contaminate a nearby drinking water production plant.
The beaches of La Restinga, San Borondon, El Baranquillo and La Restinga were closed to the public on Thursday due to the risk of contamination.
On Friday morning, the Canary Islands’ General Directorate of Emergencies raised the Territorial Civil Protection Plan (PLATECA) to Level 2, denoting a higher risk and enabling the further mobilisation of resources, including a helicopter, drones and a maritime rescue boat which are being used in an effort to contain the spill.
The mayor of Telde, Juan Antonio Pena, said over 70 personnel were involved in containing the spill and cleaning up affected areas.
“This contamination sadly has a considerable magnitude, which is why so many resources have been deployed”, he said. “Something like this is preventable. We will demand accountability because it harms the environment and we cannot allow it to ever happen again”.
