Barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel sinks off Galápagos Islands, prompting emergency

Crews worked Monday to assess the impact of an oil spill off one of the Galápagos Islands after a barge carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel sank, Ecuadorean officials said.

Park and naval crews put up containment barriers and absorbent cloths off San Cristóbal Island after the Orca barge sank Sunday.

The island is one of more than a dozen in the Galápagos chain, known for their rich biodiversity and rare species detailed by Charles Darwin as he established the theory of evolution.

The incident occurred in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno as the barge was unloaded and a crane carrying cargo tipped over onto it, the Ecuadorean navy said in a statement.

Video of the incident shows the crane falling as the vessel's crew leaps from the railings and the barge capsizes.

Ecuadorean President Lenín Moreno declared a state of emergency but said the situation was under control.

Raúl Clement Ledesma Huerta, Ecuador's minister of the environment, said in a statement that immediate actions were taken to reduce the environmental risk to the island and that an investigation would be carried out to determine who was responsible.

The environment minister planned to be at the site of the incident Monday. It was not immediately clear what impact the spill had.

The islands are administered by Ecuador's government, and many strict conservation rules are in place to protect the plants and animals that can be found only on the famed  archipelago. 

The islands are a UNESCO World Heritage site.