A diesel spill from a capsized barge is threatening pods of vulnerable killer whales in Robson Bight, off Canada's Pacific Coast, environment officials said Wednesday. More than 30 killer whales and other marine animals are at risk of breathing in fumes from a diesel truck dumped Monday morning from the barge into the waters near an ecological reserve off northern Vancouver Island, said Kate Thompson, a spokeswoman for British Columbia's environment ministry.Loaded with 10,000 litres of fuel, the truck now sits at the bottom of a narrow channel, 300 meters (985 feet) below the surface, but only 200 litres have so far escaped, she said.An ambulance and pickup trucks also went overboard in the accident.Whales have no sense of smell, and so they would not know to avoid the slick, which could cause respiratory problems, even kill them.And several pods of whales seem to prefer the pebbly beaches of Robson's Bight over other spots, returning regularly."They go through Robson's Bight often to rub barnacles off their skin," surmised Thompson. "It's like a 'whale spa.'"Tuesday, booms were set up to try to contain the spill, but environmentalists and whale watching tour operators lamented officials reacted too slowly. Much of the spill had already broken into several "little bits."A half dozen provincial and federal departments are now trying to assess the situation, Thompson said."It's too early to say how we're going to handle it," she said.
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