An oil spill from a grounded Greek tanker off Pakistan's port city of Karachi has blackenedits sandy beaches and is threatening marine life.
The
Tasman Spirit
, carrying 67,500 tonnes of crude, was grounded just outside the channel leading to the Karachi Port on July 27th,and three attempts to tow it away have failed.
Dead fish and turtles littered the two main beaches ofKarachi - most covered in a thick coat of oil.
On Wednesday a large crack appeared in its hull in the middle from where spurts of crude could be seen coming out. Later in the day Karachi Port Trust (KPT) officials expressed fears that the ship would break into two within 12 hours.
However, the ship has survived the cycles of both high andlow tides till Thursday afternoon.
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The strong smell of crude gripped the well-heeled neighbourhoods near the Karachi beaches, and residents complained of difficulty in breathing and of their eyes watering.
Salvage and pollution control experts from Holland, England and Greece are helping Pakistani authorities, who are using booms to prevent crude from entering the port waters.
Pakistan, which is poorly equipped to handle the crisis, isimporting pollution control and salvage equipments from various countries. Nuclear arch-rival India today offered to help Pakistan to contain the oil spill.