A freighter goes into flames and sinks, hundreds of tons of oil flow into the sea

X-Press Pearl registered in Singapore had been on fire for nearly two weeks before the fire went out this week, the BBC writes, the Persiscope translation.

Hundreds of tons of oil from fuel tanks can flow into the sea if sank, destroying nearby sea life.

Sri Lankan and Indian navy had worked together over the past few days in an effort to put out the fire and prevent the ship from falling and sinking.

But harsh seas and winds prevented the operation, just outside the port of Columbo.

The Anni is sinking. The navigators are trying to pull the ship to the deep sea before it sinks to minimise sea pollution, the back zone of the ship has already shifted,” told the BBC, the spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Navy, Captain Indika Silva, broadcast Periscopi.