Offshore oil spill threatens beaches in eastern Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s navy is working to clean up a spill of as much as 128 tons (160,000 liters) of crude oil that leaked from a pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand. The spill is near the country’s Eastern Seaboard industrial area but an official with the Pollution Control Department said some of the oil could hit beaches by Friday if it’s not dispersed before then. The Star Petroleum Refining Public Co. said the leak happened Tuesday night at an offshore mooring station, and was stanched shortly after midnight. The company says it expects to completely disperse the oil slick.