France helping Mauritius over MV Wakashio oil spill accident

FILE PHOTO: A satellite image shows the MV Wakashio ship and the oil spill off the southeast coast of Mauritius, August 8, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

France is sending a military plane and a naval boat to Mauritius to help the government deal with the oil spill caused by the MV Wakashio accident, said the French defence ministry on Monday.

The MV Wakashio, operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, struck a reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25. Fuel started leaking from the cracked vessel last week and officials and environmentalists say the incident risks becoming an ecological disaster.

FILE PHOTO: A still image taken from a drone video shows an oil spill after the bulk carrier ship MV Wakashio ran aground on a reef, at Riviere des Creoles, Mauritius, August 8, 2020. REUBEN PILLAY/REUBSVISION.MU, Virtual Tour of Mauritius/via REUTERS

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Alison Williams)