Oil-polluted western coast to be declared disaster zone

South Korea's western coastal county of Taean hit by the country's worst-ever oil spill will be declared a disaster zone eligible for state subsidies and compensation as thousands of people struggle to clean up the leaked oil.

Residents of special disaster zones are eligible for more than double the amount of the financial assistance normally provided by the government to victims of natural disasters, while the affected local governments will receive 20-30 percent more than normal subsidies. Affected residents will also be provided with manpower and equipment to help in the recovery efforts, as well as tax cuts and medical and quarantine services.

The leaked oil is threatening the country's largest fish farming area in Garorimman Bay. It has already reached the mouth of the bay, some 20 kilometers north of the accident.

The oil was leaked after a 146,000-ton tanker collided with an 11,800-ton crane-carrying barge in waters off Taean County, 90 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on Friday morning. The crane hit the Hong Kong-registered tanker and punctured three of its five containers. Oil leaking from two of the containers was mostly stopped on Friday, but leakage from the third container was only completely stopped early Sunday after repairs were completed.

The oil spill, the largest in South Korea's history, is about twice the size of the leak of 5,035 tons on the southern coast in 1995.

The disaster is expected to deal a heavy blow to tourist businesses and oyster and abalone farms in the ecologically pristine Taean County where some 5,650 hectares of fish farms operate and several scenic beaches are situated. It currently affects seashore, fish farms, and swimming beaches covering 8,223 hectares in Taean County and neighboring cities, according to accounts by South Chungcheong province.