Jiyeh: biggest ever Mediterranean oil spill gets a clean

On 13 July 2006, and again on 15 July 2006, the Israeli Air Force bombed the Jiyeh power station, 30 km (19 mi) south of Beirut, resulting in the largest ever oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea.The plant's damaged storage tanks leaked an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes (more than 4 million gallons) of oil into the eastern Mediterranean.A 10 km (6 mi) wide oil slick covered 170 km of coastline,and threatened Turkey and Cyprus. The slick killed fish including the northern bluefin tuna, a species already nearing extinction in the Mediterranean, and threatened the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle. It also potentially increased the risk of cancer in humans. An additional 25,000 tons of oil burned at the power station, creating a "toxic cloud" that rained oil downwind. The Lebanese government estimated the time necessary for a complete recovery to be 10 years. The UN estimated the cost for the initial clean-up at $64 million.
These images show some of the clean-up work happening off the coast of Triploli. Both a nature reserve and park, the islands attract tourists during the seasons they're open to the public. Of course with oil covering half of them, there won't be as many tourists,meaning less business for the locals. Luckily many organisations have donated equipment,logistics,and experts to help the local people clean the islands themselves. They also get paid to do the job. Some of them are just happy that one day their children will look back and say their parents did this for us.