Johannesburg: The number of dead dolphins that have washed ashore on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius after an oil spill has risen to 39, the government said Friday, ahead of protests this weekend against authorities’ handling of the disaster at sea.
Three whales also were found dead Friday, an environmental expert said.
It’s not yet clear what caused the dolphins’ deaths, but alarmed environmentalists have called for an investigation. The dolphins began washing up this week, several days after some 1,000 tons of fuel spilled from a Japanese ship that ran aground on a coral reef then split apart under the pounding surf.
