Colombo: An Indian coast guard aircraft sprayed a special chemical on a patch of diesel fuel near a large oil tanker off Sri Lanka’s coast where firefighters are battling a new blaze that broke out two days after an earlier fire was extinguished, the navy said.
The MT New Diamond is carrying nearly 2 million barrels of crude oil and officials have warned of possible massive environmental damage to Sri Lanka’s coast if the ship leaks or explodes.
Navy spokesman Capt. Indika de Silva said the new fire started Monday evening and reached the magnitude of the previous blaze. Firefighters have contained it but it is still burning, he said.
