BEIRUT: Lebanon began cleaning its beaches on Saturday after an oil spill deposited tar over large stretches of the coast in the southern part of the country.
Tar from an offshore oil spill that polluted Israel’s beaches has also stained the sandy coast of Lebanon’s port city of Tyre.
Hassan Hamze, director of the Tyre nature reserve, said the cleaning operation will take at least 15 days.
“We will begin to remove the tar spots starting from the reserve coast, and hundreds of volunteers will help in the cleaning operation,” he said.
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that UNIFIL is studying ways to possibly help Lebanon counter the threat of an oil spill.
“UNIFIL has been contacted by local authorities to see what help can be provided within our available capabilities and equipment.
We are studying these requests to see how we can help,” Tenenti said.
In recent days, an oil spill had caused severe damage to Israel’s beaches.
Last Sunday, Israel shut down all its beaches after stormy weather washed huge quantities of tar onto the country’s Mediterranean coastline.
Many animals, among them sea turtles, were found dead on the 160-kilometre stretch of coastline affected by the spill.
Volunteers in Israel have also launched clean-up operations to rid the beaches of chunks of tar from an estimated hundreds of tonnes of leaked fuel, amid warnings of toxic fumes. — dpa
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