Tons of oils spill into Yellow Sea
CNN reported that a collision between an oil tanker and a barged caused thousands of tons of oil to spill into the Yellow Sea just off the coast of South Korea Thursday.
The barge was carrying a crane that punctured a hole in the side of the Hebei Spirit releasing around 10,000 tons of oil into the sea at about 7:15 a.m. local time.
The BBC reported that around 30 Coast Gaurd boats along with four helicopters were trying to contain the oil following the spill.
The spill has been contained, CNN reported.
The effects on the environment are expected to be limited due to the current weather conditions.
"Because of the current wind and wave movements the maritime ministry is not expecting to see much environmental damage on the west coast of Korea," the Maritime Ministry of Korea told CNN.
The BBC reported that the spill is the worst in South Korea's history. The most oil previously spilled was 5,000 tons back in 1995.
Oil does not mix with water, instead it just sits at the surface. The clean-up teams may try to contain the oil by surrounding the spill with booms to keep it contained to one area, the BBC reported.