Sea animals killed by ship’s chemical cargo

COLOMBO: Marine creatures including sea turtles that were washed ashore along the Sri Lankan coastal line over recent days died over a chemical leak from the X-Press Pearl vessel, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation CB Rathnayake said yesterday.

Rathnayake said investigations would continue to determine the exact cause of deaths.

“A large number of sea creatures in the ocean have died as a result of the fire aboard the X-Press Pearl vessel that was transporting chemicals. Investigations were conducted to determine the cause of death and clear signs of acid burns were visible on the dead sea turtles,” Rathnayake said.