Coastguard in race to contain massive oil spill in Philippines after tanker capsizes

The Philippines coastguard has said it is "racing against time" to contain a massive oil spill that could become the biggest in the country's history.

- Helen Davidson , Chi-hui Lin , Amy Hawkins

The MT Terra Nova, a Philippine-flagged tanker carrying 1.4m litres of oil, capsized in Manila Bay in the early hours of yesterday, as Typhoon Gaemi charged through the busy shipping route, whipping up aggressive winds and leaving 25 people dead in Taiwan and the Philippines.

By yesterday evening the Philippine coastguard said an oil slick more than 2 miles long had been detected, with efforts under way to contain the damage. There are fears that the slick could reach the shores of the Philippines' bustling capital, Manila. Rough waters and high waves caused by the typhoon have hampered clean-up efforts.

Authorities have not directly linked the capsizing to the typhoon, which passed through the area on Wednesday and brought torrential rain and high seas.