A stricken tanker which has been leaking oil off the north-coast of Spain has broken in two.

A Spanish government spokeswoman told the BBC: "The ship split in two at 8 o'clock this morning."

The vessel was reported to have been about 250 kilometres (150 miles) from the Spanish coast when it broke up.

According to some reports, it was in Portuguese territorial waters at the time.

Environmentalists have warned this could lead to an ecological disaster.

The tanker, which got into difficulties a week ago, had already spilt several thousand tons of oil into the sea.

Environmentalists have warned that if the ship spills her load, the damage could be twice that of the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

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