UN says Singapore ship that sank off Sri Lanka caused 'significant damage' to ecosystem | South China Morning Post

The UN representative in Sri Lanka said the sinking of a container ship that caught fire while transporting chemicals off the capital Colombo caused "significant damage to the planet" by releasing hazardous substances into the ecosystem. The Singapore-flagged X-Press Pearl sank on Thursday, a month after catching fire, raising concerns about a possible environmental disaster. The UN said it was coordinating international efforts and helping Sri Lanka in assessing the damage, recovery efforts and preventing such disasters in the future. UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said an environmental emergency of this nature "threatens lives and livelihoods of…