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Multiple oil spills are visible from space after Iranian and US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities and ships in the region, with experts warning of an impending environmental catastrophe.
Satellite images are giving an insight into destruction in the region, including to the fragile biodiversity of the Persian Gulf. Oil spilt there has the potential to affect the lives and livelihoods of people along the Gulf coastlines, as well as the region's rich marine life.
One image, taken on April 7, shows a spill spanning more than five miles in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran's Qeshm Island. An Iranian vessel, the Shahid Bagheri, was leaked oil in the same area after US forces hit the vessel on February 28, Greenpeace Germany spokesperson Nina Noelle told CNN.
Another image shows oil around Lavan Island after what Iranian state media called a hit "by enemies" on an oil facility near the island's coast on April 7. Video shared on social media and geolocated by CNN also shows a large fire erupting from the Iranian oil refinery.
The hit on Lavan is a "major environmental emergency," said Wim Zwijnenburg, a project leader at Dutch peace organization PAX, who tracks the consequences of strikes around the Gulf.
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📸 : Sentinel-1/European Space Agency
