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Brazilian Navy sank a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean despite carrying toxic materials, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.
The warship, "Sao Paulo" that Brazil sank in a planned and controlled manner on the Brazilian coast was reportedly six-decade-old. The "planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon" on Friday, some 350 km (220 miles) off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, in an area with an "approximate depth of 5,000 meters [16,000 feet]", Al Jazeera quoted Brazil's Navy as saying. Environmentalists criticised the move, claiming the cruiser had tonnes of asbestos, heavy metals, and other harmful elements that could leach into the ocean and pollute the marine food chain, despite the fact that defence authorities claimed they would destroy the ship in the "safest place," according to Al Jazeera. Notably, the Sao Paulo took part in France's first nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1960s, and from the 1970s to the 1990s, it was stationed in Africa, the Middle East, and the former Yugoslavia. The 873-foot (266-meter) aircraft carrier was purchased by Brazil in 2000 for USD 12 million. The ship's downfall was hastened in 2005 when a fire broke out on board. (ANI)
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