176 turtles, 20 dolphins reported dead after May ship fire in SL

The Sri Lankan government has said that 176 turtles, four whales, and 20 dolphins had died and washed ashore on Sri Lankan beaches up to July 7 as a result of the burning of the X-Press Pearl container ship in May, reported Xinhua, quoting local media on Saturday.

Sri Lanka's Ports and Shipping Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena told the parliament on Friday the Government Analyst and Veterinary Research Institute were conducting investigations to ascertain the cause of the marine animals' death.

Wildlife department officials said the dead marine animals had washed ashore on beaches from the southern to western coast of the country in recent weeks.

The X-Press Pearl container ship flying the flag of Singapore was carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tons of nitric acid and several other chemicals and cosmetics from the port of Hazira, India on May 15. The vessel sent out a distress call while being close to the Colombo Port on May 20, and soon caught fire.

Sri Lanka's Marine Environment Protection Authority said that the burning of the vessel has caused a massive environmental disaster as beaches were damaged due to the debris which washed ashore.

A criminal probe is presently underway in finding out how the fire on board the container ship started.