British experts aid tanker rescue

A dozen bird species are already covered in heavy oil

Oil specialists from Britain have flown to Spain to help clear up after the sinking of the tanker Prestige.

A team of eight experts from Oil Spill Response in Southampton joined others from around the world to help stop a oil slick from devastating the north-western Spanish coast.

Rescuers hope to prevent oil spewing out of the tanker from reaching the shore.

The operation began on Monday with crews using booms and skimmers to save some of the beaches.

Prestige broke in two after storm off Spanish coast

Lindsay Mead, general manager of Oil Spill Response, said: "The big question is how much oil was released when the ship broke in two.

"Once we know the answer we can respond accordingly. We have got people on the beaches helping to work out how to protect them and others working on the clean-up."

As the Prestige sank just before 1200 GMT on Tuesday, wildlife experts were already reporting birds were being found coated in heavy fuel oil.

The 44,000-ton Bahamian-flagged Prestige broke up about 150 miles off the Coast of Death - so named because of the frequency of shipwrecks - after running into trouble during a storm last Wednesday.

A spill of the entire 70,000-ton cargo would double that of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, one of the worst ever.