VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – The city council of Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday closed three beaches on the Mediterranean coast after oil or fuel from a spill washed up on a 2-km (1.2-mile) line of sand. The cause of the spill was not immediately clear.
“The red flag was raised on the beach of Saler, Arbre del Gos y Garrofera because of the spill,” city hall spokesperson Juan Carlos Caballero told reporters.
Authorities in Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, have sent a drone and a helicopter to find the origin and nature of the spill and gauge its severity. Special crews were sent to clean up the popular beaches just south of the city on a narrow strip of land between the Mediterranean and a protected wetland called L’Albufera.
The extent of the spill appeared limited to that area, Caballero said.
In addition to an industrial port and several heavy-industry plants, Valencia also has popular beach resorts.
(Reporting by Eva Máñez in Valencia, Spain; Writing by Inti Landauro; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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