Bahamas and Cuba on alert over oil spill

BBC Caribbean News in Brief

The Bahamas and Cuba have been closely monitoring a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which some forecasters say could be headed their way.

Oil has been gushing from a BP owned broken well for more than a month after an explosion at the offshore Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

On Thursday the oil company conceded that more oil was flowing from the well than they had previously thought.

The oil spill has prompted an unprecedented diplomatic coming together between Cuba and the United States on how Havana could respond to the spill.

The National Disaster Coordinator in the Bahamas, Captain Stephen Russell, told BBC Caribbean that they had set up an oil spill committee to monitor the situation.

Mr Russell said the impact on the Bahamas could be serious, as the spill could threaten vital fish stocks and the country’s crucial tourism industry.