BBC published this article:

Dozens of people have fallen sick in coastal villages in the Philippines after a major oil spill from a sunken tanker.

The MT Princess Empress was carrying 800,000 litres of industrial fuel oil when it sank off the coast of the Oriental Mindoro province last week.

That oil has since reached the shores of several nearby fishing villages, coating beaches in black sludge.

Residents have reported experiencing cramps, vomiting and dizziness.

Clean-up workers deployed to the affected village of Pola have also reported feeling ill, local media reported.

Breathing fuel oil vapours can cause symptoms such as nausea and headaches, while skin contact may cause itchiness and blisters.

Philippines authorities have declared a state of calamity for the affected areas in the province and imposed a fishing ban until the spill is cleaned up.

But the ban has a huge impact on the livelihoods of many locals in the area. More than 18,000 fishermen across 60 villages have been barred from the water, local authorities said.

Philippines' tourism ministry has also raised concerns about the spill tainting waters at popular diving destinations including the Verde Island passage and Apo Reef in Mindoro and World War Two shipwrecks in Palawan.