CNN —An overturned vessel has caused a huge oil spill along Trinidad and Tobago’s coastline, in what the Caribbean country’s prime minister described as a “national emergency” on Sunday. The spill occurred on February 7 off the southern shores of the Tobago Island, according to the country’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM). Prime Minister Keith Rowley said in a news conference Sunday that “the situation is not under control.” The origins of the vessel have not yet been identified, he added. An oil spill in Tobago Island, Trinidad and Tobago, is seen in this handout photo released February 10, 2024 Office of the Chief Secretary/ReutersWorkers clean up an oil spill on Rockly Bay beach in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, on February 10, 2024. Akash Boodan/APThe oil spill, pictured on February 10, covered about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) of the coastline in black residue.

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Persons: Keith Rowley, ” Rowley, Farley Augustine, –, ” Augustine, Akash Boodan, Clement Williams, Lambeau, Augustine Organizations: CNN, Caribbean country’s, country’s, Disaster Preparedness, Management, ” Authorities, Assembly, Officials, Reuters Workers, Getty, Residents Locations: Trinidad, Tobago’s, Tobago, Tobago Island, Trinidad and Tobago, Scarborough, AFP