- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
Philippines races to contain spill after oil tanker capsizes off Manila
A Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of industrial fuel oil capsized and sank off Manila on Thursday, authorities said, as they raced to contain a spill.
One crew member of the MT Terra Nova died when it capsized in Manila Bay, nearly seven kilometres (4.3 miles) off Limay municipality in Bataan province, as it sailed to the central city of Iloilo.
The vessel went down as heavy rains fuelled by Typhoon Gaemi and the seasonal monsoon lashed Manila and surrounding regions in recent days.
An oil spill stretching several kilometres has been detected and the Philippine Coast Guard was preparing to apply dispersants and deploy floating barriers to contain the slick.
At a briefing earlier Thursday, coast guard spokesman Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said authorities were "racing against time" to contain the spill and stop more fuel leaking.
He warned that if all the oil in the tanker were to leak, it would be the biggest spill in Philippine history.
"There is a big danger that Manila will be affected, even the shoreline of Manila, if the fuel will leak, because it is within Manila Bay," Balilo said.
Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said 16 of the 17 crew had been rescued from the stricken vessel.
The body of a missing crew member was found in the afternoon after rescuers spent hours searching the rough seas, the coast guard said.
An investigation into the cause of the incident was underway, but coast guard spokesman Balilo said the vessel had not broken rules on heavy weather sailing.
A Public Storm Warning Signal had not been raised when the MT Terra Nova departed Limay and "therefore did not violate rules and regulations", he said in a statement.
Thousands of fishermen and tour operators are dependent on the waters for their livelihoods.
A photo released by the coast guard showed the MT Terra Nova almost entirely submerged in rough seas.
It has since sunk 34 metres below the waves, which Balilo said was "considerably shallow" and meant siphoning the oil out of the tanker "can be done quickly".
Coast guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gavan said they had set a target of seven days to complete the siphoning.
- Investigation ordered -
An oil slick stretching about 3.7 kilometres was being carried by a "strong current" in an easterly, northeasterly direction, the coast guard said in a report.
Marine environmental protection personnel have been mobilised to help contain the slick. The coast guard said it was also working with some oil spill response organisations, while oil companies, including Petron, had offered to help.
"It will definitely affect the marine environment," Balilo said, describing the amount of oil on the ship as "enormous".
The leader of a local fishing group said the spill was "really alarming" and urged authorities to contain it as quickly as possible.
"The livelihood of our fishermen is dependent on the waters. They don't have any alternative," Pando Hicap, chairman of Pamalakaya, told AFP.
One of the worst oil spills in the Philippines was in February 2023, when a tanker carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil sank off the central island of Mindoro.
Diesel fuel and thick oil from that vessel contaminated the waters and beaches along the coast of Oriental Mindoro province, devastating the fishing and tourism industries.
The oil dispersed over hundreds of kilometres of waters famed for having some of the most diverse marine life in the world.
In 2006, a tanker sank off the central island of Guimaras spilling tens of thousands of gallons of oil that destroyed a marine reserve, ruined local fishing grounds and covered stretches of coastline in black sludge.
G.Machado--PC