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Mystery ship capsizes in Trinidad and Tobago, triggering massive oil spill and national emergency

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Emergency workers in Trinidad and Tobago are racing to clean up a massive oil spill after a mystery vessel ran aground near the Caribbean island, casting a pall over Carnival tourism.

The spill was “not under control” as of Sunday, said Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who add that the country wgrappling with a national emergency.

The mystery vessel capsized Wednesday in waters off the Caribbean island, having made no emergency calls, with no sign of crew, and no clear sign of ownership.

ship.jpg
 A massive oil spill from an overturned vessel off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago is “not under control,” Prime Minister Keith Rowley said.

Tobago Emergency Management Agency


Rowley on Sunday declared a national emergency as oil leaking from the vessel affected nearly 10 miles of coastline.

“Cleaning and restoration can only begin as soon as we have the situation under control. Right now the situation is not under control,” the prime minister told journalists.

Divers have so far been unable to plug the leak.

Hundreds of volunteers have been toiling since Thursday to halt the spread of the oil, and the government has asked for even more to lend a hand. Images and video released by the government showed crews working late into the night Sunday.

The leak has damaged a reef and Atlantic beaches, and residents of the village of Lambeau have been advised to wear masks or temporarily relocate.

The government posted satellite imagery on social media, showing affected areas.

“The satellite imagery reveals a distinctive silver-like slick emanating from the overturned wrecked vessel. Additionally, there are noticeable streaks of a thick, black-like substance accompanying the spill,” the post says.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO-ENVIRONMENT-ACCIDENT-OIL-SPILL
View of the oil spill at Rockly Bay in Tobago island, Trinidad and Tobago, on February 10, 2024. 

CLEMENT WILLIAMS/AFP via Getty Images


The spill comes at the height of Carnival, threatening the tourist business that is crucial to the dual-island nation’s economy.

Just how badly tourism will be affected remains unclear. A cruise ship carrying 3,000 people docked in Tobago on Sunday.

Rowley said the mystery vessel might have been involved in “illicit” business, adding: “We don’t know who it belongs to. We have no idea where it came from, and we also don’t know all that it contains.”

Divers spotted the name “Gulfstream” on the craft’s side and have identified a length of cable, possibly indicating it was in the process of being towed, Rowley said.

The island’s Emergency Management Agency said there were no signs of life on the vessel, which is around 330 feet in length. The agency has posted dozens of images and videos on social media showing the ship and crews scrambling to contain and clean up the oil spill.





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Wisconsin school shooter was in contact with California man plotting his own attack, court documents say

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The shooter who killed a student and teacher at a religious school in Wisconsin brought two guns to the school and was in contact with a man in California whom authorities say was planning to attack a government building, according to authorities and court documents that became public Wednesday.

Police were still investigating why the 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison shot and killed a fellow student and teacher on Monday before shooting herself, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes told the Associated Press Wednesday. Two other students who were shot remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

A Southern California judge issued a restraining order Tuesday under California’s gun red flag law against a 20-year-old Carlsbad man. The order requires the man to turn his guns and ammunition into police within 48 hours unless an officer asks for them sooner because he poses an immediate danger to himself and others.

Carlsbad is located just north of San Diego. 

According to the order, the man told FBI agents that he had been messaging Natalie Rupnow, the Wisconsin shooter, about attacking a government building with a gun and explosives. The order doesn’t say what building he had targeted or when he planned to launch his attack. It also doesn’t detail his interactions with Rupnow except to state that the man was plotting a mass shooting with her.

CBS’ San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV reported that law enforcement searched the man’s home Tuesday night after the order was signed by the judge. 

Police, with the assistance of the FBI, were scouring online records and other resources and speaking with the shooter’s parents and classmates in an attempt to determine a motive for the shooting, Barnes told the AP.

Police don’t know if anyone was targeted in the attack or if the attack had been planned in advance, the chief said. Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.

“I do not know if if she planned it that day or if she planned it a week prior,” Barnes said. “To me, bringing a gun to school to hurt people is planning. And so we don’t know what the premeditation is.”

On a Madison city website providing details about the shooting, police disclosed Wednesday that two guns were found at the school, but only one was used in the shooting. A law enforcement source previously told CBS News the weapon used appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.  

Barnes told the AP that he did not know how the suspected shooter obtained the guns and he declined to say who purchased them, citing the ongoing investigation.

No decisions have been made about whether Rupnow’s parents might be charged in relation to the shooting, but they have been cooperating, Barnes told the AP.

Abundant Life is a nondenominational Christian school that offers prekindergarten classes through high school. About 420 students attend the institution.

The Dan County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the two people killed Wednesday as 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara.

An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.” 

West’s exact position with the school was unclear.   



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