The disaster occurred on Friday Dec 7, when a barge collided with the supertanker Hebei Spirit about seven miles from shore, puncturing the hull and sending more than 10,000 tons of oil gushing into the sea.

Nearly 2,200 troops, police and residents used buckets to remove the dense crude from Mallipo — one of South Korea’s best-known beaches and an important stopover for migrating birds, including snipe, mallards and great crested grebes.

Residents said the oil could be smelt more than half a mile inland, as the slick contaminated four miles of shoreline.

“This is an enormous accident … the smell is so strong that it causes a headache,” said Lee Hee-yol, a village leader at Mallipo. “We’ve asked the government to declare this region as a disaster zone.”

The area, about 95 miles south-west of the capital, Seoul, is also the site of farms that produce abalone, seaweed, clams and sea cucumbers and the spill is likely to affect at least 4,000 fishermen. It is also home to a national maritime park and is an important sanctuary for migrating birds, including snipe, mallards and great crested grebes, reports Herald Tribune

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