Heavy oil slick oozes on to Congo's beaches

[dArKeR]

Brazzaville - A large oil slick off the coast of Congo is threatening to pollute the shoreline at the southern city of Pointe Noire, the environment ministry said on Friday.

"Yesterday, we were informed that oil was leaking from the Emerald oilfield, exploited by a subsidiary of the national oil company, SNPC," Germain Kombo, an environmental adviser at the ministry told reporters.

"We are still not in a position to give precise details on the size of the slick, except to say that it is large," he said, adding that regional officials in the Pointe Noire area would issue "an alert for hydrocarbon pollution, which will allows the government to take the necessary decisions".

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