In Sri Lanka, nearly 100 carcasses of turtles have damaged their throats and shells, and 12 carcasses of dolphins and blue whales have been washed ashore. Because the container ship burned and sank, Causes the fear of serious marine disasters.

Ecologists believe that Singapore-flagged ship X-Press Pearl burned for 12 days and sank from a major port in Sri Lanka in the capital Colombo last week, while the death was directly caused by a fire and the release of toxic chemicals. However, government officials said these causes had been “tentatively” identified and investigations were ongoing.

A fire broke out on the ship on May 20, and a few days later dead marine life began to drift ashore.

According to the Associated Press’s manifesto of the ship, 81 of the ship’s approximately 1,500 containers held “dangerous goods.”

The Sri Lanka Navy believes that the flames were caused by the chemical cargo, most of which was destroyed by the fire. However, debris such as burnt fiberglass and large amounts of plastic pellets severely pollute the surrounding waters and long areas of the island’s famous beaches.

Postmortem analysis of carcasses is being conducted individually by the government analyst department at five government-run laboratories, a wildlife department official who spoke on condition of anonymity allowed authorities to speak to the media. Said it wasn’t.

“Temporarily, it can be said that these deaths were caused by two methods. One was due to heat burns and the other was due to chemicals. These are obvious,” said a secretary to the Ministry of the Environment. One Anil Jasinge said.

He declined to reveal the exact cause, saying that “posthumous analysis is still underway.”

The turtle conservation project, Thushan Kapurusinghe, blamed the fire and chemicals carried by the ship to kill the turtles.

With over 30 years of experience in turtle protection, Kapursinge said dead turtles have bleeding in the mouth, cloaca, and throat, and “there are signs of burns and erosion in certain parts of the shell.” It was.

The sea off Sri Lanka and its coastline are home to five species of turtles that spawn on a regular basis. March-June is the peak season for turtle arrivals.

Based on the nature of the fire and the amount of chemicals, marine and coastal ecologist Laris Ekanayake said, “At least 400 turtles may have died and their bodies may have sunk into the sea or drifted into the deep sea. I suspect there is.

Sri Lanka plans to claim compensation from its owner, X-Press Feeders, and has already filed a $ 40 million provisional claim.

Hundreds of cold-surprised sea turtles have been rescued from South Padre Island, Texas.