Thousands of volunteers help to clean mysterious oil spill in Brazil

Volunteers are desperately trying to clean a mysterious oil spill from beaches in north-east Brazil.

Thousands have started digging and raking sand to prevent sludge from harming the environment and wildlife.

The country’s coral reefs could be impacted, according to experts.

Environmental agency Ibama confirmed 15 sea turtles and two birds had been killed after oil slicks began appearing at the start of September along some 1,300 miles of coastline.

The crude has washed up on at least 187 beaches since, including Praia do Futuro in Ceará and Ilhéus in Bahia.

The oil on Friday reached the Carneiros beach, known as one of the ‘jewels’ of Pernambuco state’s coast.

The government’s response has been criticised by oceanographers and environmental NGOs including Greenpeace.

Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said all necessary means were adopted for the crude’s identification and collection.

Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office requested the government be forced to activate its national plan to minimise damages caused by an oil spill contaminating the nation’s northeast coast.

The office filed the request on Thursday and released a statement the following day.

It alleges the government’s response has thus far been ‘silent, inert, inefficient and ineffective’ in the face of the spreading crude.

Prosecutors from the nine states whose coasts have been sullied by the sludge asked the federal justice system to grant the government a 24-hour period to activate the plan and set a daily fine equivalent to nearly $250,000 (£192,500) for failure to comply.

In 2013, the government created a contingency plan to mitigate damages and avoid public health risks in the case of future oil spills.

Among other directives, it calls for the formation of a unified command center for operations to broaden the state’s response.

The crude’s origin remains a mystery.

Minister Salles said the oil likely originated in Venezuela – which its government denies – and that the circumstances of the spill are unknown.

The Navy is overseeing the investigation and its primary hypothesis is the crude spilled from a boat navigating offshore Brazil.