India Works to Clean Oil Spill from Sunken Ship

Posted August 8th, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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The Indian coast guard is working to clean up an oil spill from a cargo ship that sunk off the coast of Mumbai last week.

The defense ministry said Monday that an aerial survey detected oil up to 12 nautical miles from the vessel. The ministry said the slick had decreased and oil was now spilling at a rate of about one ton per hour.

The cargo ship was carrying coal and traveling from Indonesia to the western Indian state of Gujarat when it ran into trouble off the coast of India's financial hub last Thursday. The Indian military rescued 30 crew members from the sinking ship.

The ship was estimated to be carrying more than 340 tons of fuel oil and diesel when it sank.

India's coast guard has been deployed to try to use neutralize the affected area.