Offshore oil spill threatens Thai beaches

Thailand's Navy battled Wednesday to control an oil spill which leaked from a pipeline in waters off the country's east coast.

Officials said up to 160,000 liters of crude oil had been spilled into the Gulf of Thailand off Map Ta Phut in Rayong Province late on Tuesday. The navy sent a surveillance plane, two ships and a helicopter to help with the clean-up. The spill is near an industrial area but some of the oil could hit area beaches by Friday. Star Petroleum Refining Company, which operates the offshore pipeline, said the leak was stopped early Wednesday.  It estimated 20 tons of oil was floating on the surface.  It began work to remove the oil overnight and expected to remove all of it.