French navy mobilised after oil spill off Corsica

French officials were racing Saturday to minimise the environmental impact of an oil spill approaching eastern Corsica, with two navy boats armed with clean-up equipment heading to the Mediterranean island.

“We fear that part of this pollution will reach the Corsican coast today,” a maritime official told AFP.

Two ships were heading to Corsica from Toulon, in southern France. The heavy-grade oil, which appears to have leaked from a ship, was first detected on Friday. By early yesterday, officials had detected two oil slicks measuring about 19 nautical miles (35km) across.