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Thai Beach Declared Disaster Area after Oil Spill

Workers clean oil spills caused by a leak from an undersea pipeline 20 km (12.4 miles) off Thailand's eastern coast at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, Thailand, January 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Workers clean oil spills caused by a leak from an undersea pipeline 20 km (12.4 miles) off Thailand's eastern coast at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, Thailand, January 29, 2022. (Reuters)
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Thai Beach Declared Disaster Area after Oil Spill

Workers clean oil spills caused by a leak from an undersea pipeline 20 km (12.4 miles) off Thailand's eastern coast at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, Thailand, January 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Workers clean oil spills caused by a leak from an undersea pipeline 20 km (12.4 miles) off Thailand's eastern coast at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province, Thailand, January 29, 2022. (Reuters)

A beach in eastern Thailand was declared a disaster area on Saturday as oil leaking from an underwater pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand continued to wash ashore and blacken the sand.

The leak from the pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited (SPRC) started late on Tuesday and was brought under control a day later after spilling an estimated 50,000 liters (13,209 gallons) of oil into the ocean 20 km (12 miles) from the country's industrialized eastern seaboard.

Some of the oil reached the shoreline at Mae Ramphueng beach in Rayong province late on Friday after spreading over 47 sq km (18 sq miles) of sea in the gulf.

The navy is working with SPRC to contain the leak and said the main oil mass was still offshore with only a small amount washing up on at least two spots along the 12-km-long beach.

About 150 SPRC workers and 200 navy personnel had been deployed to clean up the beach and oil boom barriers had been set up, the navy said.

Twelve navy ships and three civilian ships along with a number of aircraft were also working to contain the spill at sea with booms and dispersant spray.

"We and the company are still working at sea to reduce the amount of oil by cornering the spill and sucking up the oil and spraying dispersant," Rear Admiral Artorn Charapinyo, deputy commander of the first Naval Area command, told reporters.

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Man Says He Was behind Some of the Viral Googly Eyes on Public Art in Oregon

This image provided by the City of Bend, Ore., shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP, File)
This image provided by the City of Bend, Ore., shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP, File)
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Man Says He Was behind Some of the Viral Googly Eyes on Public Art in Oregon

This image provided by the City of Bend, Ore., shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP, File)
This image provided by the City of Bend, Ore., shows a pair of googly eyes placed on a public art sculpture in Bend. (City of Bend, Oregon, via AP, File)

A resident of the central Oregon city of Bend says he was the person behind some of the googly eyes that appeared on sculptures around the city in recent months and sparked a viral sensation widely covered by news outlets.

Jeff Keith, founder of a Bend-based nonprofit called Guardian Group that works to combat human trafficking, said Friday that he used duct tape to attach googly eyes to two sculptures. He said he has carried out similar pranks on other Bend sculptures before — such as adorning them with hula skirts and leis — and that they serve as a respite from the emotional toll of his work.

“It is a place for me to cope with some pretty heavy stuff,” he told The Associated Press, noting that many of the trafficking victims he has worked with have been through “unimaginable trauma.”

The city shared photos of the googly eye installations on social media in early December, saying the adhesives can damage the art. One photo shows googly eyes placed on a sculpture of two deer — which Keith described as his handiwork — while another shows them attached to a sphere. City officials at the time said eight sculptures were affected and that it cost $1,500 to remove the googly eyes.

The social media posts prompted a cascade of comments, with many social media users saying they liked the googly eyes and that the city shouldn’t spend time and money on removing them. The post and its comments were covered by news outlets, and even made it on a segment of CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Keith said he didn't expect his exploits to receive that much attention, and that he went to city offices to offer to pay for any damages. The city didn't immediately respond Friday to an emailed request seeking confirmation and comment.

Bend's communications director, Rene Mitchell, told The Associated Press last month that the city regretted that its post had been misunderstood. She said there was no intent to be “heavy-handed” and that the posts were meant to raise awareness about the damage adhesives can do to the city's public art collection. The city had started treating some of the art pieces, she said, which are made of different types of metal such as bronze and steel.

Keith, who has lived in Bend for nearly two decades, said he also hopes his pranks bring some humor and joy into people's everyday lives.

“I think the biggest thing is, for me, just to get a laugh,” he said. “When I come up on these roundabouts and I see families laughing, like hysterically laughing at these, it makes for a good time.”