An oil carrier vessel ran aground on a coral reef in the Indian Ocean on 25 July and began leaking oil into waters off the island of Mauritius.
The MV Wakashio was stranded close to Pointe d'Esny, an area of wetland recognised by UNESCO as a protected site. The vessel was trapped on the coral reef and the side of the vessel was breached.
Helicopters have removed the ships crew and began removing some of the 4000 tonnes of fuel and oil from the ship, though it is thought that 1000 tonnes of oil has already leaked into the sea.
Local authorities and hundreds of volunteers have scrambled to help with the clean-up and protect the local beaches and coral reefs.
The Mauritian Prime Minister declared a state of emergency and appealed for help. France and Japan have deployed teams with pollution control equipment. Bad weather is forecast in the coming days which is predicted to make the clean-up efforts more difficult.
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