All today’s papers carry the news that a fuel tanker accidentally spilled thousands of gallons (figures vary from 1,300 in El Caribe to 3,500 in Diario Libre) of diesel fuel into the Haina river, necessitating a massive clean-up operation involving the navy, the police, the transport police (AMET), the fire departments, Civil Defense volunteers, the national oil refineries and the Environment Ministry. Work is under way to contain the spill and to extract the polluted water. According to Diario Libre, a number of local people were selling some of the recovered fuel. The accident took place on Wednesday evening near Haina’s Club Nautico, when the fuel truck, which had just filled its tanks at the Dominican refinery, collided head-on with a private vehicle. The truck driver is in hospital with serious injuries, and three others, including two who had been traveling in the truck and the driver of the other vehicle, suffered slight injuries. The Environment Ministry will produce a report on the environmental impact of this spill, which is believed to have caused serious long-term effects on the flora and fauna of the surrounding area. The fire department is warning people not to light fires in the vicinity, for fear of igniting the fuel.