SINGAPORE — A section of East Coast Park beach was closed off to swimmers today (July 12) due to an "oil slick", the National Environment Agency (NEA) said.
Twitter user Gurmit Singh (@gurms) first alerted TODAY to the incident. Mr Singh said that there was a “smell of petrol in the air”.
An NEA spokesman said it was notified at around 1.45pm of the oil slick. Officers who arrived later at the site found the area near the rock bund and shoreline of Area C3 East Coast Beach to be affected.
The oil patch measured approximately 10m by 5m, said the spokesman and a 100m stretch of the beach was temporarily closed to beach-goers as contractors commenced a clean-up of the affected area.
A Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) spokesman also said it had been informed of the sighting.
The MPA "did not receive any report of oil spill from ships", the spokesman said.
When TODAY went down to the scene, a sign had already been put up warning beach-goers of “contaminated” waters.
'Contaminated' waters close section of East Coast Park beach
A sign had been put up warning beach-goers of "contaminated" waters and cleaners were seen on site.
Channel NewsAsia 12 Jul 156;
SINGAPORE: Parts of East Coast Park beach was closed off to swimmers on Sunday (Jul 12) due to water contamination.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) told Channel NewsAsia that it was notified of an oil slick at the East Coast Beach at about 1.45pm.
"NEA officers arrived at the site and found the area near the rock bund and shoreline of Area C3 East Coast Beach to be affected," said a spokesperson from NEA. "The oil patch measured approximately 10 metres by 5 metres."
A Twitter user going by the name of Gurmit Singh (@gurms) first alerted TODAY to the incident at about 2.58pm. Mr Singh said that there was a “smell of petrol in the air”.
"The affected 100 metre stretch of the beach has been temporarily closed to beach-goers, and NEA’s contractors have commenced the clean-up of the affected area," added NEA's spokesperson.
However, when contacted, a Maritime Port Authority (MPA) spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia that MPA did not find any oil after it was "informed of sighting of an oily mixture confined to a small area at the shoreline off East Coast Seafood Centre".
"MPA craft surveyed the waters off East Coast Park and eastern anchorages and there were no sighting of any oil. MPA also did not receive any report of oil spill from ships," said the spokesperson.