2 sailors killed in oil clean-up

TWO crew members from a tugboat involved in cleaning up an oil spill off Mauritius were killed late on Monday when their vessel collided with a barge in bad weather, a local lawmaker said.

Four other crew members were rescued by helicopter and two were still missing, Mahend Gungerpersad, an MP for the opposition Labour Party, said on Tuesday.

“This is going to add to the prevailing anger,” he said, referring to weekend protests over the handling of the operation to contain the oil spill and the deaths of dozens of dolphins.

“We had the oil spill, then we had the deaths of the dolphins and now two people who have been killed.”

The MV Wakashio, a Japanese bulk carrier, struck a coral reef off the coast in July, spilling thousands of tons of crude oil. The tugboat and barge sent out a distress signal and he tugboat capsized after the collision. Both ships were moving parts salvaged from the site of the oil spill into the port.