Barge with 600 gallons of diesel sinks in Galapagos

A barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel sank in the San Cristobal Island, the easternmost island in the Galapagos archipelago on Sunday.

The incident occurred as workers attempted to load a container on a barge with the crane and both somehow tipped, destabilising the vessel which turned on its side.

Workers in the barge began to jump into the water to prevent from sinking with the ship.

Staff from the Galapagos National Park and the Ecuadorian Navy used containment barriers, as well as hydrocarbon-absorbing cloth around the vessel to prevent the scattering of any diesel that could leak out from the barge.