Hong Kong government struggles to clean up mess as palm oil spill spreads
Environmental groups call on officials to find those responsible and seek compensation
Hong Kong is struggling to contain the spread of a major palm oil spill, closing two more beaches on Tuesday, as experts warned that the fallout was unpredictable because of a lack of information.
After days of silence, environmental officials confirmed a ship collision southwest of the city last Thursday had spilled 1,000 tonnes of oil into the sea, but could neither give a more precise location nor provide any details as to who the vessels belonged to and who should be held responsible.
While officials said preliminary laboratory tests indicated little to no trace of oil in water from the affected area, local beaches were swamped with globs of rancid oil. Environmental groups were worried the lack of detailed information on the spill and the difficulty in cleaning up the mess would amplify the environmental damage.
Watch: volunteers clean up palm oil spill on Hong Kong beaches
Although Hong Kong government departments so far have scooped up more than 93 tonnes of the white, gelatinous, lard-like pieces of crystallised oil, more of it is washing up on southwestern coastlines and now spreading to the east. Guangdong authorities had cleaned up 38 tonnes of palm oil as of Monday.