Two cargo ships collided on Sunday in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Corsica, causing an oil spill.
Although there were no injuries, the oil spill has heightened fears of an environmental disaster.
“The collision caused considerable damage, with an opening several meters long in the CLS Virginia’s hull,” according to the regional naval authority.
“The pollution belt, with a width of 300 meters and a length of less than one kilometre, is almost stable,” said the maritime prefecture of the French city of Toulon.
France, Monaco and Italy have already begun to deal with the consequences of the accident, and a special-purpose vessel has been sent to the area of the spill, which will begin an operation to clean up the pollution.