Sunken tanker salvaged

'Southern Star 7' has been towed to a sandbar, which is located about a kilometre away from the spot where the oil tanker sank almost 55 hours ago in Sundarbans' Shela River.

Authorities say over the next three days they plan to remove the oil, which spilled off from the vessel into the 34 thousand hectares area of the forest.

MS Harun & Co, the owner of the capsized tanker, started rescue works around 10.30am Thursday. It was towed with the help of four rescue vessels to sandbar at Joymoni area.

Meanwhile, the two rescue vessels of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), which had started from Narayanganj and Barisal, are yet to reach the spot.

Mongla Port's Harbour Master KM Aktaruzzaman said tugboat 'Kandari 10', which started from Chittagong reached to the Sundarban's Akram Point.

Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan said on Wednesday that powdered chemicals would be sprayed from Kandari-10 so that the oil on the water subsided and risk of reduction of oxygen in the water declined.

Authorities said the vessel is equipped with oil dispersants, which can handle up to 10,000 litres of oil.

Forest officials suspect that all of the 350,000 litres of furnace oil in the sunken tanker has already spread into the rivers and canals of the Sundarbans.

Environmentalists say this will cause a serious ecological disaster in the world’s biggest mangrove forest.

Meanwhile, a meeting headed by BIWTA Chairman Samsuddoha Khondaker was held at the Mongla port, which discussed how to remove the spilled oil, said the Port Authority's Chairman Commodore Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan.

He said that they planned to remove the oil by the next three days with the help of local fishermen.

Mongla port's Harbour Master Aktaruzzaman said they hope to start the oil-removing work by Thursday afternoon.