Advertisement
Sri Lankans Afraid Of Possible...

News & Sport

Sri Lankans Afraid Of Possible Environmental Disaster Following Ship Fire

Newsroom
Newsroom

11:08 3 Jun 2021


Share this article


There are fears of an environmental disaster in Sri Lanka, after a massive cargo ship sunk near the capital Colombo.

MV X-Press Pearl was waiting for an open space in the port when a fire broke out on May 20th.

It has been raging since.

The ship was carrying almost 1,500 containers including tonnes of chemicals and cosmetics.

There are also concerns that excess fuel will pollute the local area.

This Is A "Death Blow" For Fishing

The government banned fishing along an 80km (50 miles) stretch of coastline.

That's affecting 5,600 fishing boats.

While hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to clean beaches.

"The ship has dealt a death blow to our lives," said Joshua Anthony, head of a region fishing union.

"We can't go into the sea which means we can't make a living."


Share this article