Prestige The Killer

The oil tanker Prestige sank a month and a half ago but oil is still washing onto the beaches of northwest Spain, and the tanker continues to leak.

About 7,000 tonnes of oil has polluted nearly 200 beaches in the Galicia region of Spain.

About 3,000 dead or oil-covered birds have been found so far. Conservationists began releasing cleaned birds at sea south of Lisbon late last week.

But for each one recovered, at least 10 more have been damaged or killed at sea.

Small oil patches, ranging from less than a metre to more than 10 metres across, have spread across thousands of square kilometres of ocean. Westerly winds have blown the oil across the north coast of Spain, and towards French and Portuguese beaches.