Favourable weather and clean-up keep oil slick away from Thai resort island

Workers carry out a clean-up operation on Mae Ramphueng Beach after a pipeline oil spill off the coast of Rayong province in eastern Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

Favourable wind and sea conditions kept an oil slick away from beaches in eastern Thailand on Sunday, according to authorities, but concerns remain that the spillage may yet strike a popular resort island.

Emergency workers in protective gear removed contaminated sand from the Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, south-east of Bangkok, which was shut on Saturday.