Italian navy on alert in case of fuel spill from stranded tanker

An Italian Navy patrol ship equipped for anti-pollution operations was on standby Sunday to intervene in case any fuel might leak from an empty oil tanker which has ran aground off the island of Sicily. The Navy is "on alert for any eventuality" given the adverse weather conditions in the area of the accident, it said in a statement.
A heavy duty salvage helicopter was also dispatched to the area near Syracuse, in southern Sicily where the Gelso M was listing.
The 11,000 ton tanker was not carrying any oil cargo when it hit rocks amid bad weather on Saturday. But its engine-fuel could still pose a spillage threat.
Coast guard helicopters, operatings in conditions of strong winds and sweeping rain on Saturday lifted to safety all of the vessel's 19 crew members.
No one was injured in the accident, which took place almost two months after the cruise ship Costa Concordia hit rocks off another Italian island, Giglio. More than 30 people died in the January 13 accident.
Meanwhile, inclement weather continued to hit Sicily and other parts of the southern Mediterranean. Several roads around Syracuse were closed due to flooding, reports said.
On Saturday in Malta a British tourist, a man believed to be in his 50s, drowned after being swept out from the shore of the resort town of Qawra.