India's southern coast witnessed a massive oil spill on Saturday when two oil tankers collided at Ennore Port, north of Chennai city. Subsequently, the area has been enveloped by over 20 tonnes of oil and 40 tonnes of toxic substances keeping local fishermen at bay.
SEE ALSO:Barrage of winter storms dump dangerous rain and snow on West CoastFishermen around Marina Beach, which is considered the world's second longest urban beach, fear venturing into the sea because crude oil contains carcinogens and the port authorities haven't provided them with protective gear, The News Minute reported.
They, along with the coastal guards, have been stranded in waist-deep black sludge all day while using buckets to remove the oil, the report added.
"The biggest source of toxins is through inhalation and crude oil has benzene, which is a carcinogen," explained an environmentalist.
Even locals are shying away from buying seafood as a result of the incident. Many endangered Olive Ridley turtles have washed up dead on the shore, the New Indian Express reported.
Only a handful of boats could be seen at the Marina as fishermen found it to tough wade through the thick oil deposits.
Volunteers aiding the manual cleaning have reported irritation in the eyes and infections in the skin. The president of a local housing society claimed to have "developed boils all over" his hands. "The port authorities did not issue any warnings about the dangers posed but encouraged people to join the clean up," he added.
Oil spills are rather common in Indian seas. One of the worst was reported in late 2013 when a gas pipeline off the Mumbai coast had leaked and more than 1,000 liters of crude oil washed into the sea.
In 2010, two merchant ships collided off the Mumbai coast again, spilling over 800 tons of oil into the sea and destroying close to a million mangroves along the coastline.
It is reported that scientists will soon be studying the ecological impact of the Ennore Oil Spill.
(责任编辑：知識)
How Hyperloop One went off the rails
Millions of sunflowers bloom in Japan and the images are stunning.
Why the extreme Louisiana floods are worrying but not surprising
Breakfasts lovers everywhere raise $90,000 for toaster of the futureMashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?Make money or go to Stanford? Katie Ledecky is left with an unfair choice.
This is Katie Ledecky's world right now, and the rest of us are just living in it. Want proof? Ledec
...[详细]
Tesla took the terms "self-driving" and "autopilot" down from its Chinese-language website after a d
...[详细]Breakfasts lovers everywhere raise $90,000 for toaster of the future
You probably don't think much can improve a crunchy piece of golden toast laden with a gently meltin
...[详细]What's going down on day 4 of the 2016 'Dota 2' International
The unstoppable wildcard EHOME was finally stopped and Newbee and Alliance were knocked out of The I
...[详细]Aly Raisman catches Simone Biles napping on a plane like a champion
Simone Biles is exhausted. She won five medals at the Summer Olympics in Rio, posed for selfies with
...[详细]New Supergravity Snapchat series focuses on global street fashion
LOS ANGELES -- Supergravity, a Los Angeles-based digital production and distribution company, is tak
...[详细]What's going down on day 4 of the 2016 'Dota 2' International
The unstoppable wildcard EHOME was finally stopped and Newbee and Alliance were knocked out of The I
...[详细]Louisiana residents make best of 'historic' flood on social media
Heavy rains forced at least a thousand rescues and caused three deaths across Louisiana over the wee
...[详细]5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
It's only fitting that the leader of the biggest company in the world has a pretty impressive list o
...[详细]British cyclist shuts down Brexit campaigner in epic tweet
Britain's decision to leave the European Union has left many people terrified, others thrilled - may
...[详细]Pokémon Go is so big that it has its own VR porn parody now
U.S. Soccer's women deserve as much as the men — even when they lose
