Video: The death throes of the X-Press Pearl
With 278 tonnes of fuel aboard, the charred remains of the fire-stricken X-Press Pearl start to sink beneath the waves.
Less than four months old and still belching smoke, the X-Press Pearl has started to sink off Sri Lanka’s west coast. Footage taken by the Sri Lankan Air Force shows her in her death throes.
Salvors were ordered by the Sri Lankan president to tow the vessel to deeper water, but the ship started to sink stern-first after her engine compartment flooded. She will take 278 tonnes of fuel and other contaminants with her to the bottom.
The Singapore-flagged X-Press Feeders vessel caught fire on 20th May due to poorly-stowed nitric acid while at anchor off Colombo. The leaking acid is thought to have mixed with other chemicals, setting in motion a chain of events that have culminated in Sri Lanka’s worst-ever environmental disaster.
