An oil spill that has blackened the shores of a popular Thai tourist island has spread to nearby isles despite a major clean-up operation.
About 50,000 litres of oil has leaked from a pipeline operated by PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) in Rayong province since Saturday morning.
The black tide has washed into Prao Bay on Ko Samet Island, a popular getaway destination for Thai citizens and foreign tourists.
About 600 metres of the white sand beaches has been covered with sticky crude oil, while a 12-inch (30cm) thick oil slick floated off the shoreline.
Progress has been made on cleaning the oil that washed into Prao Bay, but rough seas and strong winds spread thin films of oil to a rocky bay farther north.
Marine and Coastal Resources provincial director Puchong Saritdeechaikul said his team detected a clear oil sheen that had spread to smaller isles off Samet's eastern shore.
The clean-up operation continues on Ko Samet Island A naval commander also said there was a risk the oil would wash ashore on the mainland.
"A thin film of oil may reach the mainland. It has started to go towards there," Vice Admiral Roongsak Sereeswad said.
Tourists have checked out from the three resorts on Prao Bay, which has been declared a disaster zone.
Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, president of the Rayong Tourist Association, said about 30% of the tourists have left the island.
"There are no tourists coming in any more, only people leaving. Some groups already cancelled bookings. Some are scared and started to leave," Mr Chairat said.
One Bangkok tour operator even launched an appeal for people to donate hair to make a boom to absorb the oil.
"An oil expert said hair can absorb spilled oil so we will collect hair to make a hair sausage," Thammtorn Junprasert said.
"I'm now contacting hotels for donation of old pillows stuffed with duck feathers."
A cleaning vessel works on the sick of Ko Samet as part of the operation. Fishermen in Rayong have also demanded compensation from PTTGC, saying the leaked oil will cause long-term damage to the environment.
The company apologised on Monday and said the bay would be cleansed within three days - a goal questioned by environmental activists.
Mr Saritdeechaikul said that "there's no way it will be finished by that time".
Conservationist group Greenpeace also said much more work needed to be done.
"There is a lot of oil still in the bay," Greenpeace campaigner Ply Pirom said.
"It's very disappointing that this global company has no emergency plan to deal with the crisis."
Satit Pituthecha, a Democrat Member of Parliament for Rayong, said the country's tourism and fishing industries would take six months to recover from the spill.
Crude oil from an Omani tanker moored offshore was being transferred via a pipeline to a refinery when the leak was detected.
It is the fourth major oil spill in Thailand's history, according to the Energy Ministry.
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