Hundreds of dead turtles wash up in Sri Lanka after cargo ship sinks

Hundreds of dead turtles have washed ashore after a cargo ship caught fire and sank off the west coast of Sri Lanka.

The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl was carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, as well as other chemicals and cosmetics.

It sank on June 2 and toxins released from the ship have killed 176 turtles, along with 20 dolphins and four whales in what has been described as Sri Lanka’s “worst man-made environmental disaster”.

Volunteers have been working to remove the carcasses of dead sea turtles from the beaches.