Dead turtles, dolphins washing ashore after ship carrying chemicals burns, sinks

Dead turtles and dolphins are washing ashore in Sri Lanka after a ship that was carrying chemicals burned off shore and sank.

There have been around a hundred turtles and a dozen dolphins that have washed up, and the Sri Lankan government is investigating the matter, CBS News reported.

Analysis of the dead animals are being done by the Government Analysts Department and five state-run laboratories, an official with the country’s wildlife department told the outlet.

The animals were found after a ship carrying chemicals caught on fire and sank into the ocean on May 20.

“Provisionally, we can say that these deaths were caused by two methods — one is due to burns from the heat and secondly due to chemicals. These are obvious,” Anil Jasinghe, secretary of the Environment Ministry, said.

Sri Lanka has already filed an interim claim of $40 million from the company responsible for the ship, X-Press Feeders, according to CBS News.

The country’s navy has said the ship has polluted the waters with chemicals and plastic pellets infecting the area.