BFP, Coast Guard cleaning up oil spill in Pasig River from Sta. Ana depot

Government agencies have teamed up to clean the storage tank of a small depot in Sta. Ana, Manila over the weekend and contain the subsequent oil spill in the Pasig river.

Bureau of Fire Protection personnel manually scooped sludge from the facility of Larraine's Marketing and expect to finish the task Monday, radio dzBB reported.

 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard deployed a rubber boat to remove the used oil from the depot that is polluting the Pasig River.

 

City health and emergency medical services were also in the area to assist residents affected by the oil spill.

 

As of Monday morning, at least three people had been brought to the hospital as they were not feeling well. They included a policeman who had difficulty breathing, a 40-year-old, and a two-month-old child, the report said.

 

Last Saturday night, residents in Pandacan and Sta. Ana complained of a foul smell that turned out to be from a spill of used oil from the depot.

A joke gone wrong?

 

At least four workers from the depot were invited for questioning by police, who received information a worker may have opened the valve as a joke. 

The city government will inspect other warehouses in the area to check if they are storing used oil, radio dzBB's Manny Vargas reported.

 

Authorities suspect the used oil depot has local repair shops as clients.

 

A separate dzBB report said families of workers in the compound of Larraine's Marketing were evacuated. —KG/YA, GMA News