The Ministry of Environment will form a committee to assess the damage caused by the recent oil spill in Hurghada, Red Sea. The committee will be composed of members from the regional branch of the Egyptian Environment Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Center for the Combat of Petroleum Pollution, and the Red Sea Protectorates Authority. The Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Maged George, Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy, and the Governor of the Red Sea Magdi Qobayessi visited the areas affected by the spill following a meeting yesterday where they discussed clean up efforts. Gerorge said that beaches around tourist resorts and hotels are currently being cleaned. The crisis management department of the Environment Ministry had earlier dispatched a team from the regional branch of the EEAA, the executive arm of the ministry, to survey the affected area. The team found a number of scattered oil spills covering a distance of 20 kilometers, some of which had already reached the beaches of tourist resorts and hotels. The EEAA team also discovered that coral reefs in el-Fanadeer, Abu Galawa, el-Sakhwa, el-Araq, and Abu Sadaf were harmed by the spills. Meanwhile, Fathi Sorour, the speaker of parliament, has referred the matter to a joint committee with members from the health, environment, tourist and trade and industry committees of the People's Assembly. MP Magdi Allam said this is the tenth time that such a spill has happened in this area. "A center for the combat of marine pollution has been established, however its equipment cannot cope with such crises," he added. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
