Oil spill near Trinidad and Tobago blamed on barge being tugged to Guyana, officials say

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Officials in Trinidad and Tobago say a preliminary investigation into a mushrooming oil spill in waters near Trinidad and Tobago has found that an overturned and abandoned barge blamed for the disaster was being tugged to nearby Guyana. Officials in the eastern Caribbean island nation are trying to determine the owner of the vessel after last week’s spill coated beaches along Tobago’s southern coast and forced at least two schools to close over health concerns. Officials declared a national emergency on Sunday, and have launched a massive cleanup effort. Trinidad and Tobago’s coast guard has determined with help from regional agencies and satellite images that the barge and a tug boat were traveling from Panama to Guyana.