Ship carrying diesel sinks outside of Santa Cruz island in the Galápagos

A ship has sunk near the Galapagos Islands, with thousands of gallons of diesel leaking into the waters of the archipelago's sensitive ecosystem.

“It is estimated that it contained 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel at the time of the incident.

Galapagos National Park confirmed the sinking of the vessel called the Albatroz and said it was used for scuba diving excursions in waters off the islands, which are a protected natural heritage site.

Containment booms have been set up around the area of the accident in an effort to control the spill Attempts have also been made to drag the vessel back to the surface. All four of the crew members escaped the wreckage safely.

“Containment barriers, bags of hair trimmings, and absorbent cloths were placed in the first area to isolate the fuel released by the sunken vessel.

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