A massive oil spill caused by leakage from a power plant inside one of Syria’s oil refineries is spreading along the coast of the Mediterranean country, Syria’s state news agency said and satellite photos showed Wednesday.
SANA said the spill reached the coastal town of Jableh, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the refinery in the town of Baniyas, adding that Syria’s environment department and the municipality of the coastal province of Latakia have placed all concerned departments on alert. It said work is underway to clean the coast in the rocky areas.
Satellite images from Planet Labs Inc. today show what appears to be a massive 19-kilometre long spread oil spill from the Baniyas plant. An image from Monday showed no sign of the slick, suggesting whatever happened to cause the spill happened later.
The head of the Electricity Workers Syndicate at Tartous Workers Union, Dawoud Darwish, blames cracks in one of the fuel tanks at the thermal station. He points out that the tank was filled with 15,000 tons of fuel almost all of which has been lost.
More details from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/massive-oil-spill-caused-by-power-plant-leak-spreads-along-syrian-coast/
In this satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc., an oil spill is seen stretching off the coast near Baniyas, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. The massive oil spill caused by leakage from a power plant inside the Baniyas Thermal Station, one of Syria’s oil refineries is spreading along the coast of the Mediterranean country, Syria’s state news agency said and satellite photos showed Wednesday. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)