Analyst on Mauritius oil spill; clear-up continues

Thousands of students, environmental activists and residents of Mauritius were working around the clock Sunday, trying to reduce the damage to the Indian Ocean island from an oil spill after a ship ran aground on a coral reef.

An estimated one ton of oil from the Japanese ship's cargo of four tons has already escaped into the sea, officials said.

Workers were seeking to stop more oil from leaking, but with high winds and rough seas on Sunday there were reports of new cracks to the ship's hull.

Satellite images show a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near wetlands that the government called "very sensitive."

Wildlife workers and volunteers, meanwhile, ferried dozens of baby tortoises and rare plants from an island near the spill, Ile aux Aigrettes, to the mainland.

"Yes, the civil society has taken over the state in this endeavor to try to mitigate the spillage," said Sunil Dowarkasing, an environmental consultant and former member of parliament.

He said people have created long floating oil booms to try to slow the spread into the lagoon and onto the coast.

The hastily made fabric booms are stuffed with sugar cane leaves and straw and kept afloat with plastic bottles, he said.

People are also using empty oil drums to scoop up as much oil as possible from shallower waters.