Iftar Timings Mar 19 - Ramazan 8

Lahore
LHR
06:14 PM
Karachi
KHI
06:43 PM
Islamabad
ISB
06:19 PM
Peshawar
PWR
06:23 PM
Quetta
QTA
06:43 PM

News

Lebanese clear tar pollution from turtle beach

February 27, 2021 08:33 PM


Lebanese on Saturday raked balls of tar away from a turtle beach in the south of the country, as a massive slick washed ashore after hitting neighbouring Israel.

A storm more than a week ago threw tonnes of the sticky, black substance onto the beaches of the Jewish state, apparently after leaking from a ship.

Within days the spill had spread to southern Lebanon, where clumps of tar contaminated beaches stretching from the border town of Naqura to the southern city of Tyre.

The swathe of coastline, which includes some of the country's best preserved beaches, is a nesting site for turtles which usually appear later in the year.

On Saturday morning, mask-clad volunteers and members of the civil defence sifted blobs of tar out of sand on the beach of the Tyre Coast Nature Reserve, an AFP journalist said.

"The Tyre reserve has been hit by about two tonnes of tar, 90 percent of which is now hidden in the sand," said Mouin Hamze, the head of the National Council for Scientific Research.

The clean-up of the reserve could last up to two more weeks, he told AFP.

The protected zone covers 3.8 square kilometres (almost 1.5 square miles) of beach as well as adjacent sea waters, according to its website.

As well as endangered loggerhead and green sea turtles, the beach provides shelter for the Arabian spiny mouse.

Hamze had said previously that the pollution could continue washing up on Lebanese shores for up to three months.

A survey of the area using drones is not yet complete, but he said the damage was extensive in the south while tar had even landed on the beach further north in the capital Beirut.

 

 



Most Read

  1. Google invites Pakistan’s youngest vlogger Shiraz and sister Muskan to USA Google invites Pakistan’s youngest vlogger Shiraz and sister Muskan to USA
  2. Well-known builder Asif Razaq Deenar arrested at Karachi airport Well-known builder Asif Razaq Deenar arrested at Karachi airport
  3. Islamabad players celebrate victory with Palestine flag Islamabad players celebrate victory with Palestine flag
  4. Ahmed Baig delivers Pakistan's first International Golf Victory in more than 25 years Ahmed Baig delivers Pakistan's first International Golf Victory in more than 25 years
  5. Religious Brotherhood: Tharparkar’s Hindu facilitiates Muslim in Ramazan Religious Brotherhood: Tharparkar’s Hindu facilitiates Muslim in Ramazan
  6. Caught in the act: Corrupt cops fired as video goes viral Caught in the act: Corrupt cops fired as video goes viral

Opinion

  1. 1947 TO FORM 47
    1947 TO FORM 47

    By Dr Asif Channer

  2. Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....
    Beijing wants to further highlight industrial sector in its country and take scientific innovation to new heights....

    By Ali Ramay

  3. Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses
    Global race: China will reduce its unnecessary expenses

    By Ali Ramay

  4. Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan
    Channer Pir: The Great Saint of Cholistan

    By Dr Asif Channer

  5. Literate the Religious Illiterate
    Literate the Religious Illiterate

    By Dr Asif Channer

  6. From White Elephant to Success: BRI Project Witnesses Surge in Ridership
    From White Elephant to Success: BRI Project Witnesses Surge in Ridership

    By Ali Ramay