Approximately 1,000 gallons of fuel was spilled into Colombia’s northwestern Gulf of Uraba after a collision between a Finnish barge and another ship on Tuesday night.
Officials say that the spill has a radius of approximately 0.9 miles.
Engineers and other personnel from Antioquia’s disaster prevention department (DAPARD) have been dispatched to the coast of the northern city of Turbo, Antioquia where the incident took place, to evaluate the environmental impact of the spill.
According to Ecopetrol, who have dispatched two engineers and a boat to cover the incident, the liquid released into the water is a fuel called LFO 380, which is similar to diesel.
More DAPARD personnel, including director Cesar Hernandez, have been sent to the affected area to take control of the situation along with the Ecopetrol experts and the local harbormaster.
A communications officer for DAPARD told Colombia Reports that luckily the spill has for the most part been contained within a mudded area of the coastline, where there is little coral or animal life.