Lebanon Oil Spill Threatens Eastern Mediterranean Coasts

(Bloomberg) — An oil spill seeping from a Lebanese power station that was bombed by Israeli jets threatens to pollute countries in the eastern Mediterranean such as Cyprus and Turkey, Lebanon’s environment minister said in Beirut.

“As soon as we had the outburst of the first spill, we thought of the potential danger that this spill will have on the whole Mediterranean,” Yacoub Sarraf said in an interview.

The spill was caused by the bombing of oil storage units at the Jiyyeh power plant, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Beirut, in the early days of Israel’s campaign against the Hezbollah between July 13 and 15. About 10,000 tons of oil has escaped and up to 35,000 tons may finally seep out, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization said.
Bloomberg