Greenpeace on Mauritius oil spill from grounded ship

Greenpeace said Sunday there needs to be "redress" for the community affected by a major oil spill from a grounded ship in Mauritius.

"Those who are part of the transaction to ship this oil need to compensate the community and deal with the biodiversity damage", Greenpeace Africa senior climate and energy campaign manager Happy Khambule told AP.

"The transaction, whatever it was between the cargo ship company, between the people who are the sellers and the buyers need to come into the forefront, be held accountable for the fact that the transaction has led to this kind of thing", he added.

Mauritius residents on Saturday stuffed stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves to create makeshifts barrier to stop the spilled ship fuel from reaching the shore.

The spillage has endangered wildlife in further peril and the Mauritius government has declared an environmental emergency.