Tunisia: Navy divers reach shipwreck site

Tunisian navy divers reached Sunday, the site of the fuel tanker wich sank one day earlier.

On footage provided by the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Defense, divers are seen starting operations in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisian southeast coast.

The good weather enabled the tanker’s captain and the mechanics to accompany the Tunisian officials.

The tanker was carrying 750 tonnes of fuel from Egypt to Malta when it sank.

Leila Chikhaoui, the Environment minister and Transport Minister, Moez Chakchouk, examined the protective booms put around the ship to contain any oil slick.

Preliminary findings suggested there had not been any oil spill.

The gulf of Gabes, an important fishing area with about 400,000 inhabitants, has already suffered from pollution episodes. Even the authorities have been reassuring; The Tunisia branch of the World Wildlife Fund said it feared a "new environmental catastrophe in the region".