Philippines oil spill has officials "preparing for the worst" as they race to recover fuel from sunken vessel

A vessel carrying roughly 370,000 gallons of industrial fuel oil capsized and sunk off of the Philippines on Thursday, causing an oil spill and killing one crew member. Officials now fear a "marine environment catastrophe," saying they're "preparing for the worst."

The Philippine Coast Guard said the incident occurred just after 1 a.m. local time on Thursday about 3.6 nautical miles east of Lamao Point in the Philippines Bataan province. The motor tanker, called Terra Nova, was carrying 1.4 million liters, about 370,000 gallons, of industrial fuel oil when it capsized in rough seas. One person died and 16 other crew members were rescued. 

In their initial announcement, the coast guard said the oil spill had spread about 2 nautical miles due to a strong current. Coast Guard Admiral Ronnie Gil L Gava directed three response vessels to the spill site, saying they would administer oil dispersants to "immediately mitigate the impact" as officials prepared to siphon the area.