Sri Lanka seeks UN help in assessing damage from ship fire

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's government is seeking help from the United Nations and other countries in assessing the environmental damage caused by a fire on a container ship carrying chemicals that is sinking off its capital, officials said Tuesday.

The 12-day fire on the MV X-Press Pearl ravaged the vessel, destroyed most of its cargo and caused severe pollution in the ocean and along a long stretch of the island nation’s famed beaches. State Minister of Urban Development and Coast Conservation Nalaka Godahewa said the government has contacted the U.N. and some other countries because "expertise within the country isn’t sufficient to accurately calculate the damage.” He did not identify the other countries.