Thousands of people in Mauritius took to the streets, as nearly 40 dead dolphins were washed up on the shore following the massive oil spill from a tanker. They held placards, and protested, calling for the Mauritius government to resign after this humongous mishap. They have also been demanding a thorough investigation of this issue.
These dolphins had presumably been affected by the toxic oil spill that was caused by a Japanese ship in Mauritian waters. Mysteriously, preliminary investigations have revealed no trace of oil, but have identified wounds on the bodies of these dolphins. However, the protesters are not satisfied with these reports and have demanded a further probe into the issue.
A local environmental group Eco-Sud, which took part in Saturday’s protest, said in a statement on Friday that representatives from civil society should be present during the autopsies and called for a second opinion from independent specialists.
Following this, there has been an investigation initiated on two different angles. Firstly, the local police are to look into the responsibility of the company whose ship had caused the disaster, along with the crew and the other members on board. The second will be by a senior Shipping Ministry official to study the whole incident that happened during the hit.