URQUIOLA

On May 12, 1976, the Spanish oil tanker Urquiola, coming from the Persian Gulf, carried out one of the worst ecological catastrophes on the Peninsula on the Galician coast. In the maneuver to enter the estuary of La Coruña, to unload at its refinery, it ran aground on some rocky needles of the lower Las Yacentes. It didn't take much damage at first. Successive maneuvers worsened his situation. In fact, in the fifth rescue attempt with the intention of removing it from the channel and leaving the Spanish coast, it exploded causing a fire accompanied by a large black smoke. The ship's captain died of carbon monoxide poisoning. And the oil slick caused by the thousands of tons of crude spilled into the La Coruña estuary reached those of Betanzos, El Ferrol and Ares. The tanker was refloated, scrapped and sold for scrap. Some plates have remained as remains on a sandy bottom at a depth of about 30 meters.

Various sources