Colombo, May 28 (Xinhua): Sri Lankan security personnel on Thursday worked to remove debris that washed ashore from the container ship X-Press Pearl, which has been burning for the eighth consecutive day in the sea off Sri Lanka’s Colombo Harbour, on a beach at Pamunugama in Negombo, a major city in Sri Lanka which is 38 km from capital Colombo.
The Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday said it was continuing its fire fighting efforts to douse the flames on board the X-Press Pearl ship which caught fire near the Colombo Port on May 20.
Navy Spokesman Captain Indika De Silva told Xinhua that teams continued to be on scene to douse the flames and the fire had been confined to the back of the vessel. However, he said efforts were being hampered by heavy winds and inclement weather conditions.
Visuals released by local media showed that beaches extending from Colombo to Negombo on the west coast, had been polluted from debris from the burning ship and the police had warned people not to touch it as it may be harmful.
The X-Press Pearl is registered under the flag of Singapore and was carrying 1,486 containers with 25 tons of Nitric Acid and several other chemicals and cosmetics from the port of Hazira, India on May 15.
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