Santa Cruz de Tenerife 13 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, remarked that, based on the information available, “for the time being” the weather conditions are preventing the diesel slick, which emerged after the sinking of the fishing vessels ‘Montes y Sabino’ on Wednesday night, located 3.5 miles off the coast of Telde (Gran Canaria), from reaching the shoreline.
He made these comments on Thursday during a press briefing, adding that it appears that both the tide and the winds “are steering away” the coastal slick.
“This is encouraging news because the primary concern could have been if it reached the desalination plants or posed a threat to them. It seems that currently the weather is on our side, but we remain vigilant in monitoring the situation,” he noted.
Threat in five municipalities
In response, the General Emergency Directorate of the Canary Islands announced on Thursday the escalation of the alert to high risk of marine pollution in five municipalities of Gran Canaria following the sinking of the fishing vessel. The municipalities affected include Telde, Ingenio, Agüimes, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, and San Bartolomé de Tirajana.
This decision follows confirmation from maritime rescue operations that a slick measuring between 100 and 150 meters in diameter and extending a mile in length has been located to the south of the incident area.
Furthermore, it is estimated that around 2,000 litres of diesel and 50 litres of oil have been released, with the distance from La Mancha to the coast measured at four miles (approximately 7.4 kilometres) east of the port of Arinaga.
