Oil slick hits coral island

Oil slick hits coral island

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (AFP): Malaysian officials were yesterday trying to ascertain the ecological damage wreaked by an oil slick on a coral island, a well-known divers' haven, off the eastern state of Sabah.

The Department of Environment (DOE) said they were first alerted on Saturday by divers, who spotted congealed strips of oil being washed ashore on the southern beaches on Sipadan island, just off Sabah's eastern coast.

"Investigations by our officials found no more traces (of the slick) on Monday," Mohd Sayuti, director of Sabah's DOE, told AFP.

Sipadan is known among serious divers as having some of the most spectacular corals in the region and is also a bird sanctuary.