MAINILA, Philippines, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Oil from a tanker that sank off the Philippine island of Guimaras is spreading, threatening the coastlines of other islands.
On Tuesday, 11 days after the Solar 1 went down, only one of the ship's fuel compartments had burst, sending 50,000 gallons of fuel oil into the ocean, the Manila Times reported. But officials said there were signs of a new leak in the tanker, which still has 450,000 gallons of oil on board.
The spill is already the worst in Philippine history.
The Office of the Civil Defense said the spill has affected almost 200 miles of coast on Guimaras, covering beaches with a thick oily sludge and killing birds and fish. The slick threatens Negros and Panay, and coastal residents there were trying to put up homemade booms to keep oil off the beaches, the Times said.
Julian Amador, director for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Western Visayas, said that the tanker, now sitting on the ocean floor, must be refloated. The ship went down in a storm on Aug. 11.
