The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Seoul

A tanker collided Friday with a barge off South Korea's west coast and more than 10,000 tons of oil has leaked into the sea, a South Korean government official said.

The Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit was carrying a total of about 15,000 tons when it collided with the barge, said Kim Jong-Sik, an official with the ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries.

"This is the country's worst oil spill," Kim told AFP. "We worry about an ecological disaster.

"We have set up a boom, trying to stop oil from spreading along the coast."

The accident occurred five miles off Mallipo, some 90 kilometres (54 miles) southwest of Seoul.