- Title: Palm oil spill causes Hong Kong beach closures
- Date: 8th August 2017
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (AUGUST 8, 2017) (REUTERS) BEACH WITH PILES OF BIN BAGS FILLED WITH CONGEALED PALM OIL VARIOUS OF CONGEALED PALM OIL (STYROFOAM-LIKE WHITE BALLS) ON BEACH TWO VOLUNTEERS CLEANING UP PALM OIL CONGEALED PALM OIL BEING SWEPT ONTO SHOVEL VOLUNTEER DORIS LIU SWEEPING UP CONGEALED PALM OIL PALM OIL IN RUBBISH BAG (SOUNDBITE) (Cantonese) VOLUNTEER, DORIS LIU, SAYING: "Everywhere there's palm oil, there's a layer of palm oil that also sweeps in with plastic bottles, rubbish that comes from the mainland. You can see that the bottles are from the mainland. It's heartbreaking to see." VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS TYING UP FILLED RUBBISH BAGS VOLUNTEER DRAGGING FILLED RUBBISH BAG ON BEACH BAG BEING DRAGGED ON BEACH BEACH CLEAN UP ORGANISER ROBERT LOCKYER WALKING WITH CONGEALED PALM OIL IN HAND BALL OF CONGEALED PALM OIL (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEACH CLEAN UP ORGANISER, ROBERT LOCKYER, SAYING: "What we've seen come onto the beach is a small amount. If there was 9,000 tonnes actually released in the water, we may have only seen 1,000 tonnes of that. So there's still an awful lot of this oil out there in the water or under the water that we haven't seen." VARIOUS OF DEAD FISH VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEER PICKING UP PALM OIL VOLUNTEER WALKING TO RUBBISH BAG AND DROPPING IN PALM OIL BALLS OF CONGEALED PALM OIL HANDS OF VOLUNTEER PICKING UP CONGEALED PALM OIL VOLUNTEER PICKING UP CONGEALED PALM OIL BY SHORE
- Embargoed: 22nd August 2017 12:44
- Keywords: Hong Kong palm oil spill beaches closed clean up
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Pollution,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA0016TAPZYD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hong Kong has closed more than a dozen beaches after a palm oil spill washed foul-smelling, Styrofoam-like clumps ashore, the latest major environmental disaster to blight the territory's waters.
The Chinese-controlled city closed two more beaches in the south of Hong Kong island on Tuesday (August 8), bringing the total to 13 shut since two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary.
Groups of volunteers dashed off to the beaches to help with the clean up. Organisers are worried that the amount of congealed palm oil swept onto beaches will continue to appear over the next few weeks.
It took two days for mainland Chinese authorities to inform Hong Kong about the collision of a vessel containing 9,000 tonnes of palm oil, the government said. Media said the accident happened on Thursday (August 3).
The spill has sparked outrage among some residents and environmentalists and comes just a year after mountains of rubbish washed up on Hong Kong's beaches, with labels and packaging indicating most of it had come from mainland China. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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