Photos: At least 40 dolphins wash ashore near Mauritius oil spill

At least 40 dolphins have washed ashore on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius after an oil spill earlier in the month according to government and eyewitness accounts cited by news reports on August 28, ahead of protests planned over the weekend against authorities' handling of the disaster at sea. Three whales have also been found dead. The dolphins began washing up this week, several days after some 1,000 tons of fuel spilled from a Japanese ship that ran aground on a coral reef then split apart under the pounding surf.

Updated on: Aug 29, 2020 6:38 PM IST

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Workers load carcasses of dolphins that were washed up on shore at the Grand Sable, Mauritius on August 26. At least 40 dolphins and three whales have mysteriously died in an area of Mauritius that is affected by an oil spill from a Japanese tanker, official and witness accounts reported by multiple news agencies said on August 28. (Beekash Roopun / L'Express Maurice / REUTERS)

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The broken stem of the MV Wakashio, a Japanese-owned ship which ran aground causing a devastating oil spill, seen sinking in the open water near Mauritius on August 24. Environmentalists have demanded an investigation into whether the dolphins were killed as a result of the spill from the Japanese ship, which was scuttled on August 24. (Mauritius Police Press Office / AFP)

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Dolphins seen swimming near the shore of the Indian Ocean on August 28 near Pointe aux Feuilles, Mauritius . Earlier on August 28, Jasvin Sok Appadu from the Mauritius fisheries ministry told Reuters that autopsy results on 25 dolphins that washed ashore August 26 and August 27 are expected in the coming days. (Reuben Pillay / REUTERS)

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A Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) expert confirms oil drifting in swamps where mangroves live in Mauritius. Greenpeace has called on the government of Mauritius to launch an “urgent investigation to determine the cause of the deaths and any ties to the Wakashio oil spill.” (Japan International Cooperation Agency / AFP)

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Coastguards bring dead dolphins to the marine fish farm of Mahebourg, Mauritius on August 28. So far veterinarians have examined only two of the dolphins, which bore signs of injury but no trace of hydrocarbons in their bodies, according to preliminary autopsy results. The autopsy on the first two was conducted by the government-run Albion Fisheries Research Centre. (Reuben Pillay / REUTERS)

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A boy touches the carcass of melon-headed whale at the beach in Grand Sable, Mauritius on August 26. Some experts fear the chemicals in the fuel are to blame. Residents and environmentalists have demanded investigations into why the ship strayed miles off course. Its captain and first officer have been arrested and charged with “endangering safe navigation.” (Beekash Roopun / L'Express Maurice / AFP)

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Workers load carcasses of dolphins that were washed up on shore at the Grand Sable, Mauritius on August 26. Other dolphins may have died out at sea, environmental consultant and former lawmaker Sunil Dowarkasing told the AP on August 28. “We expect that a lot more have been killed during these few days,” he said, adding that three whales also died. It was not clear what kind of whales they were. (Reuben Pillay / REUTERS)