Using buckets and cups, Filipino residents clean up the oil spill

POLA, Philippines, March 7 (Reuters) – Residents of a central Philippine province hit by an oil spill from a capsized tanker endured the powerful stench of oil as they mopped it up with buckets and cups as authorities ‘struggled to contain environmental damage.

Wearing personal protective equipment and masks, residents of the town of Pola in Oriental Mindoro, with the help of Philippine Coast Guard crews, picked up oil-soaked debris and cleaned thick mud from the rocks along the coast.

“Here in our area the oil is very thick and the smell is strong,” resident Maribel Famadico, 34, said as she cleaned the shore with other volunteers.

“There is so much oil that we feel nauseous when we don’t wear protection. Many feel sick because of the stench,” he added.

Philippine authorities said Monday they believed they had found the tanker that sank off Oriental Mindoro last week and planned to deploy a remotely operated autonomous vehicle to pinpoint its exact location.

The tanker, the MT Princess Empress, is believed to be about 366 meters below sea level in Oriental Mindoro province, although the information had yet to be verified, according to the environment ministry.

The ship was carrying about 800,000 liters (211,338 gallons) of industrial fuel oil when it suffered engine problems on February 28 in rough seas.

Famadico said it will likely take days to clear the shoreline and rocks of oil.

“(The oil) is coming back with the tide. We cleared that area yesterday but there’s more today,” he said.

Marine scientists from the University of the Philippines said about 36,000 hectares (88,958 acres) of coral reefs, mangroves and sea grasses were potentially in danger of being affected by the oil slick.

Report by Adrián Portugal; Editing by Karen Lema and Kanupriya Kapoor

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