Canary Island beaches in oil alert

An environmental alert has been activated as an oil slick threatens holiday beaches on the south-western Canary Islands.

The Spanish government activated a level 2 alert after analysing ocean current data from the Oceanographic Institute, saying the slick that reached coastlines earlier in the week could affect vulnerable land.

Level 2 is the second highest alert level.

One beach has been cleared of oil and clean-up operations are ongoing on three other beaches near the tourist hot-spot of Maspalomas on Gran Canaria.

The Russian trawler Oleg Naydenov, carrying 1,400 metric tons of fuel oil, caught fire in a nearby port on April 11. It was towed out to sea, some 15 miles south of the island, where it sank three days later.