Part of a wrecked freighter sunk off Mauritius

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The wrecked ship "Wakashio" in a satellite image

Part of the wrecked freighter "Wakashio" off Mauritius has been sunk in the sea. The process was completed on Monday afternoon (local time), said government advisor Ken Arian to the dpa news agency.

After the ship ran aground off the vacation paradise and lost oil, it broke in two. The front and larger part of the freighter was then pulled to a deeper part of the ocean.

Greenpeace also announced in the evening that the sinking of the main part of the Japanese ship was now complete. The environmental organization had already criticized the plan in advance. "Sinking this ship would threaten biodiversity and pollute the ocean with large amounts of heavy metal toxins," Greenpeace warned in mid-August. According to government advisor Arian, the sinking has no environmental impact.

The 300 meter long ship from Japan ran aground four weeks ago on a coral reef off the southeast coast of Mauritius. After a tank ruptured, around 1,000 tons of oil spilled into the lagoon off Pointe d'Esny.

The government of the island state in the Indian Ocean speaks of the worst ecological disaster the vacation paradise has ever experienced. The freighter's captain and officer were arrested.

kfr / dpa