BBC News Online: World: Americas

Oil spill on Cuba's northern coast

The Cuban government says two foreign-registered oil tankers have collided, causing an oil spill which has polluted parts of the island's northern coastline.

The accident happened at Matanzas Bay, where thick black slurry has washed up on the shore.

Workers have been using bulldozers to clear the spillage away.

The area is only about thirty kilometres from the beach resort of Varadero, which is visited by thousands of foreign tourists every year.

But a BBC correspondent in Cuba says that so far the white sand beaches and crystal blue waters seem to have escaped any pollution.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service