A new tragedy at sea, such as the Deepwater Horizon? The risk is real and is devastating ecological paradise and a tourist Egyptian coast, known as British Hurghada, Red Sea. The toll is hundreds of turtles, fish and dolphins dead or dying. The dramatic images recall those seen recently in the Gulf of Mexico. The first rumors speak of a leak from an oil rig located at Geisum, a rocky outcrop 35 km from the coast, managed by Geisum Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Egyptian General Petroelum Corporation, the state company. And the Government, took the news hidden until he could. The first spot in the sea had already been sighted on June 19 but the alarm is triggered only when it is enlarged up to the coast. The oil minister, Sameh Fahmy, said the source of the leak was not detected but the first analysis carried out by environmental groups contend that the samples taken at sea and those collected on the beach are identical and therefore does not involve two incidents different. The same reticence has proved Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, who has not issued any comment. Besides, Egypt has already precedent in terms of coverage of environmental disasters linked to state enterprises. In this case, then weighs the fear that any alarm on a large scale could lead to mass cancellations of reservations and the sinking of the tourist season, which is based on the area economy. Meanwhile, the absorption and containment operations are lots and have expanded to El Gouna, 50 km further south.
(From BioEcoGeo)

(traslated by Google System)

AP