Oil spill from capsized barge near Tobago has reached beaches hundreds of miles away, officials say [Video]

SAN JUAN – An offshore oil spill that prompted Trinidad and Tobago to declare a national emergency earlier this month has reached the shores of the Dutch Caribbean island of Bonaire hundreds of miles away, authorities said. This is the first sign of how far the leaked oil has traveled.

Government officials said the oil poses a “serious threat” to the island and its nature including its mangroves, fish and corals. The oil washed up in areas along Bonaire’s east coast despite efforts to contain it, the government statement said Monday.

Officials have said they don’t how much oil has leaked or remains on board.

The oil is leaking from an overturned barge that had departed from Panama and was being tugged to nearby Guyana when …