Mumbai oil spill stops, but danger still afloat

MUMBAI: The oil that washed ashore on Monday — at Mumbai’s Sewri and Colaba areas — finally stopped flowing, but the scare may be far from over. While the sea at Colaba’s Geeta Nagar slum turned black, locals in Raigad district have reported signs of the oil spill on their shores on Monday, almost 100km from here.
About 879 metric tonnes of oil has flowed into the sea from MSC Chitra’s second and third fuel tanks so far.More than 500 containers have fallen into the sea causing a major hazard to navigational channels of Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. Operations remained suspended for the third consecutive day. However, MbPT chairman Rahul Asthana said since the width of the ship was 32m, even if it lists at an angle of 90 degrees, much of it will still be above water.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday sought a report on the incident from the cabinet secretary.