JICA sends 2nd response team to Mauritius

The Japan International Cooperation Agency will send a second response team and experts for an oil spill accident in Mauritius Coast.

The seven-member team is scheduled to leave Japan on Wednesday.

The Japanese ship, Wakasio, ran aground a coral reef on July 25 and after being pounded by heavy waves for several days.

The vessel cracked and started leaking oil on August 6 into the protected coast of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius and broke apart.

The damaged ship spilled over 1,000 tons of its cargo of 4,000 tons of fuel into the turquoise waters of the Mahebourg Lagoon, one of the island's most pristine coastal areas.

Most of the remaining 3,000 tons of fuel had been pumped off the ship in the past week as environmental groups warned that the damage to coral reefs could be irreversible.

The team plans to bring equipment such as oil adsorbents that will be used locally and carry out support activities, mainly in the environmental field.

The first response team was dispatched earlier last week.

Footage from JICA shows team members observing the sinking ship and confirming the environmental conditions around mangroves to check for contamination.