An oil spill along the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia is 10 times worse than originally thought, state authorities said.
A Hong Kong-registered ship damaged by a tropical storm on Wednesday leaked 230 tonnes of oil, not 20-30 tonnes as initially reported, officials said.
They warned that the toxic sludge is carcinogenic and threatening wildlife. Dozens of beaches along a 60km stretch (37 mile) on the Sunshine Coast have been declared disaster zones.
The crisis was sparked when high seas whipped up by Cyclone Hamish toppled 31 containers of ammonium nitrate fertiliser from the deck of the Pacific Adventurer.
As they fell, the containers punctured the hull and released the oil, also taking 620 tonnes of the chemical fertiliser to the ocean floor.
– from bbc