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Singapore's Sentosa Island Beaches Closed Due to Oil Spill

Workers clean up the beach following an oil slick, at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, Singapore June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Workers clean up the beach following an oil slick, at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, Singapore June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su
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Singapore's Sentosa Island Beaches Closed Due to Oil Spill

Workers clean up the beach following an oil slick, at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, Singapore June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su
Workers clean up the beach following an oil slick, at Tanjong Beach in Sentosa, Singapore June 15, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su

Beaches on Singapore's Sentosa island were closed on Saturday after an oil spill spread from a nearby shipping terminal to the tourist haven south of the city-state.
A Reuters witness saw tape cordoning off the oil-stained waters and sand of Tanjong Beach from visitors.
"Oil slick spotted. Clean up in progress. Please stay clear of water," read a sign posted on the beach.
An advisory on the Sentosa website said the waters of Tanjong, Palawan and Siloso beaches were closed for cleaning and swimming and sea activities were not allowed.
The oil spill had spread from Pasir Panjang Terminal, less than 10 km (six miles) from the island popular with tourists and locals, after a Netherlands-flagged dredger struck a stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel on Friday afternoon. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a statement on Friday evening some oil from the damaged cargo tank on the bunker vessel had spilled into the water and "the affected cargo tank has been isolated and the spill contained".
In an update on Saturday, the authority said patches of oil were observed off Pasir Panjang Terminal and along Tanjong, Palawan, and Siloso beaches. It said it has deployed 16 oil spill response craft "to continue spraying oil dispersants and to collect the oil slicks on the water surface". "There is no impact on navigational traffic. Berthing operations at Pasir Panjang Terminal remain unaffected," the authority said.

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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
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Danish Archaeologists Unearth 50 Viking Skeletons

Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA
Massacred 10th century Vikings found in a mass grave at St John’s College, Oxford. Photograph: Thames Valley Archaeological Services/PA

The excavation of a large Viking-era burial site in Denmark has unearthed 50 unusually well-preserved skeletons that archaeologists expect will help shed light on the lives of the Nordic people best known for their seafaring exploits in the Middle Ages.

The skeletons, discovered near Denmark's third-largest city Odense, were kept intact by high water levels and favorable soil conditions that prevented them from decomposing, according to Michael Borre Lundoe, the excavation leader from Museum Odense, Reuters reported.

"Normally when we excavate Viking graves, we'd be lucky if there were two teeth left in the grave besides the grave goods. But here we have the skeletons fully preserved," said Lundoe.

"The skeletons are so amazing. They are so well preserved. There are five fingers, five toes. And that opens up a whole new set of possibilities for discoveries," he said.

Rare artifacts such as knives, glass pearls and brooches dated between year 850 to 970 were also found at the excavation, which began six months ago.

Lundoe said the grave gifts indicate most of the people were part of a small community of farmers, although a woman of higher status was buried with a silver-ornamented knife and a piece of glass which was rare in the Viking Age.

Archaeologists took soil samples to search for pollen to determine which season the person was buried in and what textiles they wore.

An x-ray of a soil block from the site revealed an oval brooch, an iconic Viking Age jewelry piece associated with women's garments, covered with wood and human remains.

On the back of another brooch with period-specific ornaments, mineralized woven textile fragments provided evidence of the type of dress worn in the Viking Age, the archaeologists said.

Most of the skeletons have been removed from the graves and packed in cardboard boxes at the museum to dry out before the examination and final cleaning.