At least 40 dolphins die in area hit by Mauritius oil spill

Causes of death yet to be confirmed as witness describes last moments of one dolphin

At least 40 dolphins have died mysteriously in an area of Mauritius affected by an oil spill from a Japanese boat, officials and witnesses have said, as a witness described the moment one mother dolphin died in front of him.

Residents who had ventured out in a boat alerted Reuben Pillay to a dolphin swimming around her dying baby. He went to try to find them but the baby had died by the time he arrived, he said on Friday, but the mother initially looked normal.