Residents living in the vicinity of the beach in Kalba have been evacuated following an oil spill off the coast, the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah (EPAA) revealed on Monday.

The oil spill, which stretched over 1km, was detected off the southern coast of Kalba city.

An emergency response team was mobilised to contain the damage following an urgent meeting held on Sunday.

Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, chairperson of EPAA, said the spill was detected early and contained quickly.

She added that a team was deployed to survey the shoreline and was asked to temporarily evacuate the beach area for public health reasons.

“A team of experts has been mobilised with latest equipment to track and investigate the source of the spill and to clean-up the affected area. So far, they have finished 80 per cent of the cleaning and will complete the work soon,” Al Suwaidi said.

Al Suwaidi added that the oil spill may have been caused due to the leak of oil from tankers, wells, offshore platforms and drilling rigs, as well as spills of refined petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel and their by-products.

She warned of severe action against those responsible.

Joint operations are being conducted by the technicians representing the EPAA, Sharjah Police, National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Kalba City Municipality, Armed Forces, Coast Guard and the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Petroleum Operations

source : gulfnews