LOC20:20
17:20 GMT
GLAND, Switzerland, Oct 23 (KUNA) -- Conservationists at the World Wilflife
Fund (WWF) on Friday warned that one of Australia's worst off-shore oil spills
is killing wildlife and "massively contaminating" one of the world's last
great wildnernesses.
Amid a fourth attempt to plug the 64-day-old leak at the Montara drilling
rig, the spill, which has already spread over an area 10 times the size of
London, continued to expand at the rate of 300 barrels of oil a day in an area
of the Timor Sea famed for its marine reserves and coral, the fund said in a
statement.
Dolphins, migratory sea birds, sea snakes and marine turtles were exposed
to toxins. The spill has killed hundreds, possibly thousands, of animals, it
added.
Since August 21, when there was an accident at the Montara offshore
drilling rig's well head, around 403,000 litres of oil have been pumped into
the Timor Sea. The rig is owned by the Thai oil company PTTEP.
Satellite images show a 25,000-square-kilometre spill spreading across the
surface of the ocean and spilling into Indonesian waters, threatening the
marine reserves of Ashmore and Cartier reefs along the way. (end)
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KUNA 232020 Oct 09NNNN