COLOMBO – Nearly a hundred carcasses of turtles with throat and shell damage, as well as a dozen dead dolphins and a blue whale, have washed ashore in Sri Lanka since a container ship burned and sank. Ecologists believe the deaths were directly caused by the fire and release of hazardous chemicals while the Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl burned for 12 days and sank last week here.
Government officials, however, said these causes were “provisionally” confirmed and the investigation was continuing.
The fire started on the ship on May 20 and dead marine species started washing ashore days later.
Post-mortem analyses on the carcasses are being performed at five government-run laboratories and separately by the Government Analysts Department, said an official of the wildlife department.(AP)
