Transport Ministry of China handout/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
At least crude oil is visible. Not so the toxic liquid leaking from a capsized oil tanker in the East China Sea. This invisible substance is a lethal threat to marine life.
On 6 January, the oil tanker Sanchi collided with the CF Crystal, a Chinese freighter whose crew were all rescued. Ablaze since the collision and rocked by several massive explosions, the Sanchi finally capsized on Sunday with the loss of its 32-strong crew.
The Sanchi was carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate, a fuel much more volatile and flammable than crude oil. The spill is the biggest since the Deepwater Horizon oil platform disaster in 2010.
Much has already burned off, but the rest of the transparent fluid could leak out and float upwards, forming an invisible toxic