Thousands of dead fish and clumps of oil have been found drifting near Indonesia’s coastline more than two months after an underwater well began leaking in the Timor Sea, officials and fishermen said.
An estimated 400 barrels a day of oil has been leaking from a fissure that erupted on Aug. 21 at a rig about 150 miles (250 kilometers) off the Australian coast. PTTEP Australasia, a branch of Thai-owned PTT Exploration and Production Co. Ltd., has failed repeatedly to stop the leak but says it is still trying.
The head of the World Wildlife Fund Australia, Gilly Llewellyn, said Friday that the early impact of the spill is beginning to become clear.
"This is shaping up to be one of the largest (spills) in Australian history," Llewellyn said in an interview. "It is one of the most diverse marine habitats in the world. The impact could be over weeks, months, years."