Mauritians are cutting off their hair and stuffing it into fabric tubes in an attempt to stop a tide of oil washing out of a huge shipwreck on to their pristine Indian Ocean beaches.

Photographs show locals covered in black sludge, wearing masks and gloves, carrying buckets of oil away from the shore. Teams of volunteers have woven cloth bags and stuffed them with straw and hair, in the hope that they will soak up some of the oil.

Thousands of volunteers and salvage crews have been working around the clock, but there are fears that the marooned ship, which is carrying 2,000 tons of fuel, will split in two.

Romina Tello, founder of the Mauritius Conscious ecotourism agency, told Reuters that locals were making booms to float on the sea out of sugar cane leaves, plastic bottles and hair that people were voluntarily cutting off. “Hair absorbs oil but not water,” Tello said. “There’s been a big campaign around the island to get the hair.”

It is understood that many hairdressers are also taking part in the effort.

MV Wakashias, a Japanese bulk carrier, was en route from China to Brazil when it ran aground near Pointe d’Esny on the island nation’s south-eastern coast on July 25. The 1,000 foot vessel was carrying 200 tons of diesel and 3,800 tons of bunker fuel.

At least 1,000 tons of oil is estimated to have leaked out of the ship.

The Daily Telegraph