Philippines races to avoid 'environmental catastrophe' from oil spill

Limay, Philippines: The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday raced to offload 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil from a sunken tanker and prevent a...

Limay, Philippines: The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday raced to offload 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil from a sunken tanker and prevent an "environmental catastrophe" in Manila Bay.

One crew member died when the MT Terra Nova sank in rough seas nearly seven kilometres (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality early Thursday after setting out for the central city of Iloilo.

An oil slick stretching several kilometres was detected in the waterway, which thousands of fishermen and tourism operators rely on for their livelihoods.

Coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said Friday the spill was "minimal" and that it appeared to be diesel fuel used to power the tanker and not the industrial fuel oil cargo.

"No oil has been leaking from the tank itself, so we're racing against time to siphon the oil so we can avoid the environmental catastrophe," Balilo said.