Sunken Oil Tanker Still Leaking on Sea Bed

The sunken oil tanker Prestige had begun to release some of its potentially lethal cargo of about 60,000 tonnes of fuel oil from the bottom of the Atlantic ocean yesterday, according to Portuguese officials.

Portugal's hydro graphic institute has been monitoring the site of the sinking because it falls within Portuguese air-sea rescue waters. The institute's helicopter pilots said two new slicks had formed above the vessel overnight.

"They are small slicks but very dense," said the institute's director, Commander Augusto Ezequiel, who did not rule out that most of oil would still freeze and stay on the seabed. Buoys carrying transmitters will track the slicks' progress.

The news came as the area affected by the spillage continued to expand. Sludge began to lap around the cliffs at the entrance to La Coruna port.

The Spanish government and Greenpeace argued yesterday over the total amount of fuel oil spilt, Greenpeace putting the figure at 20,000 tonnes, and the Spanish government insisting only half that amount had leaked.

The regional government of Galicia has enlarged the off-limits area for fishing to more than 180 miles. Spain said yesterday that it had sent a submarine to the site, to check whether oil was still leaking.

The World Wildlife Fund has said that several thousand animals, mostly birds, have died.