Weather, cleanup keep oil slick away from Thai resort island

By JERRY HARMER
Associated Press

RAYONG, Thailand (AP) — Favorable wind and sea conditions are keeping an oil slick away from beaches in eastern Thailand but concerns remain that the spillage may yet strike a popular resort island. Emergency workers in protective gear are removing contaminated sand from the beach in Rayong province southeast of Bangkok, which was shut on Saturday. Most of the oil slick is being pushed toward Koh Samet, a popular tourist island that’s just beginning to recover from the coronavirus pandemic slump along with the rest of the country. The Star Petroleum Refining Co. said the leak was stopped within hours after some 20-50 tons of oil are estimated to have spilled in the Gulf of Thailand from an undersea hose on Tuesday.