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KUPANG, Indonesia: A massive oil spill off northwest Australia has hit Indonesia, killing fish and destroying livelihoods in poor villages along the Timor Sea, a non-governmental group said on Monday.
About 7,000 fishermen in East Nusa Tenggara province have been affected by the spill from the Thai-operated West Atlas rig, which has dumped thousands of barrels of oil into the Timor Sea since August 21, the group said.
"After the leak started the fishermen's income dropped 40 per cent but since last week it has been 80 per cent lower," said Ferdi Tanoni of the West Timor Care Foundation, which supports poor fishermen in eastern Indonesia.
"Before this incident, they were able to catch about 100 red snapper a night. But now it is extremely difficult to even get 20 fish."
The PTTEP Australasia-operated rig caught fire on Sunday during an attempt to stop the leak, engulfing the deck and well-head platform some 250 kilometres off the Australian coast.
Environmental group WWF said the spill is "one of Australia's biggest environmental disasters".
It said that more than 400,000 litres of oil have been spilt, generating a slick spanning 10,000-25,000 square kilometres that threatens animals including dolphins and sea turtles.
- AFP/sc
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