An oil spill that has hit a tourist island in the Gulf of Thailand has spread to nearby smaller isles as workers race to clean up the once-white sands and clear waters.

A fire caused by explosions in one of the world’s largest petrochemical industrial estates has killed 12 and injured more than 100 people in eastern Thailand.

Thai navy personnel are struggling to clean up a 200,000-litre oil slick that threatens to pollute a popular island beach resort in eastern Thailand.