Pak TV crew sick after visiting beach tainted by oil spill

Karachi, Aug 15: A television crew was hospitalised after inhaling toxic fumes from an oil spill off Karachi's coast, an official at the television station said today.
After more than four hours of filming oil-soaked beaches, the crew from Pakistani news and entertainment channel became nauseous and had difficulty breathing, said Azhar Abbas, news director at the station.
The crew's driver, who fainted, remained in the hospital while the others were released, he said.
The oil spill occurred when a Greek-registered oil tanker ran aground July 27 off Karachi's coast. The ship broke apart yesterday, and crews were trying to prevent a major oil spill.
"It is joined (now) only by pipes. We are using tug boats to prevent it from floating apart," said Brig Iftikhar Arshad, general manager Karachi port trust.

The ship was carrying 67,000 tons of crude oil for the state-run Pakistan Refinery Ltd. Authorities have salvaged 55,000 tons of oil, but refused to say how much oil has been spilled.

Public beaches in Karachi have been closed.

A thick layer of oil has washed up onto shore, say residents of the area. The carcasses of oil-soaked fish and crabs have also washed ashore and environmentalists fear a major disaster.

But officials said that the spill, which covers about 6 kms of the coastline, will not have a long-term effect on the environment.
Bureau Report