“Saudi Arabia must stop digging for oil in the Red Sea until impact assessments on marine life have been made,” diving and environment officials say.

The South Sinai Diving Chamber and South Sinai Protectorates Department have sent an official request to Egypt’s Environment Ministry demanding that it asks Saudi Arabia to halt all exploration missions for oil and natural gas south of the Red Sea until all environmental impact assessments regarding marine life are finalized.

Ziad El-Basel, deputy head of diving chamber, has declared that strong sounds and vibrations have been detected in the past two weeks in Sharm El-Sheikh and near the Ras Mohamed protectorate.

According to studies, the vibrations, consistently detected every 15 seconds, have been traced to oil and natural gas digging equipment located in the north Red Sea area close to the Saudi Arabian coast.

(Source: ahram)