Last update - 00:00 29/09/2007
Eilat beaches closed to swimming due to severe sewage leak
By Haaretz Service
Beaches in the Red Sea resort town of Eilat were closed to swimmers early Saturday, due to a sever sewage leak.
The leak comes as tens of thousands of people were vacationing Eilat for the Sukkot holiday, and there were few vacancies Saturday in the town's numerous hotels.
In the coming days, officials will examine the water quality in order to decide whether to reopen the beaches. Army Radio reported, however, that the beaches would remain closed until Sunday afternoon at the earliest.
The Interior Ministry ordered the beaches shut down, Israel Radio reported, and the Environmental Protection Ministry has begun examining the cause of the sewage malfunction, which led to the leakage of hundreds of cubic meters into the Red Sea.
Eilat officials expressed concern that the leak will harm marine flora and fauna in the Gulf of Aqaba.
Employees at the town's Dolphin Reef said the sewage was clearly visible and emitting a stench. Maya Zilber, Dolphin Reef's chief trainer, said the site's dolphins could not be transferred to another location and that the dolphins would be administered antibiotics.
The corporation in charge of treating sea water and sewage said that the flow of sewage into the sea had been completely halted, and that repair work has already begun.
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