More dead turtles, dolphins, whales wash ashore in SL

A Sri Lankan policeman looks at a dead turtle that washed ashore in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pic/AFP

A total of 118 turtles, 17 dolphins and four whales have died and washed ashore on Sri Lanka's beaches in recent weeks, following the burning of the X-Press Pearl container ship, the Department of Wildlife Conservation said.

In a statement on Friday, the Department said that the initial post-mortem carried out on the dead marine species revealed the likely cause of death was due to the seepage of chemicals into the ocean resulting from the burning of the vessel.

Wildlife officials said according to the initial post-mortem, the deaths of marine species were not natural deaths, and evidence of breathing difficulty prior to death was apparent.

Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation CB Ratnayake said further investigations into the death of marine species were being carried out, while the Department of Wildlife Conservation added that the final report will be produced in the court soon following investigations carried out by the government analyst.

The X-Press Pearl ship, registered under the flag of Singapore was carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tonnes of nitric acid and several other chemicals and cosmetics from the port of Hazira in India on May 15.

The vessel sent out a distress call while being close to the Colombo Port on May 20 and soon caught fire. The Marine Environment Protection Authority said the burning of the vessel has caused a massive environmental disaster.

1,486
No. of containers with 25 tonnes of nitric acid in the ship

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