The stench of oil from the grounded ship was overwhelming and Vikash Tatayah's eyes stung as he mopped up the sludge lapping the unspoiled Mauritian shoreline that he has spent his life protecting.

"It was uncomfortable to breathe," Tatayah, director for the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, told AFP of the devastating scene at Ile aux Aigrettes -- a wildlife haven facing a direct hit from the oil spill that has struck the island's southeast.

"Your eyes burned up, people were getting dry skin and lips. It was difficult of course because we had the stench of petroleum in the air, but we just got on with it."

People on the Indian Ocean archipelago rallied after a huge cargo ship ran aground on July 25 and began leaking fuel into picture-postcard seas, threatening a catastrophe.

More than 1,000 tonnes have spewed from the MV Wakashio, befouling coral reefs, lagoons and mangroves that sustain Mauritius' global reputation as an ecotourism hub.

"The seafarers' relationship with this coast is so deep that it's a tragedy. I've seen people from every town in Mauritius with tears in their eyes," said David Sauvage, an activist with the Rezistans ek Alternativ environment group.

In the days following the spill last week, salvage crews have battled poor weather and dangerous conditions to extract the remaining 4,000 tonnes of fuel from the Japanese-owned ship before it splits in two.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Thursday announced that all the fuel left in the tanks had been pumped out, although about 100 tonnes more was still elsewhere aboard the vessel.

"It was a race against the clock, and I salute the excellent work to prevent another oil spill," said Jugnauth.

- 'New Mauritian spirit' -

The 13-year-old bulk carrier, which was otherwise empty at the time of the grounding, is 300 metres (984 feet) long -- if placed on its stern, the height of the Eiffel Tower -- with a laden weight of 203,000 tonnes.

Thousands of Mauritians have sprung into action, marshalling along the shoreline day after day to fight the tide threatening their land, their health and their livelihoods.

Volunteers have ignored government orders to stay away and dived headfirst into a clean-up drive to save the immaculate coastline.

Kilometres (miles) of floating plastic barriers stuffed with straw and fixed with empty bottles have been stitched together into chains and placed at sea in an effort to hold back the oily tide.

"We stayed up all night to make this," said Sauvage of the improvised "booms" stitched by hand by volunteers squatted in the sand.

Mauritians clad in gumboots and rubber gloves, coated head-to-toe in treacly sludge, have scrubbed the shore, where in the distance the ship tilts perilously on its axis.

Human hair has been woven into nets to absorb the oil, with barbers offering free cuts at the shore to those donating their locks.

Salons have collected their cuttings while a French NGO has promised to contribute 20 tonnes of hair to the cause.

"We are fighting on the beaches, we are fighting with all the resources we have as citizens," local MP Joanna Berenger, who cut her own hair in solidarity, told AFP, adding that one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of hair could absorb eight litres of oil (2.1 US gallons).

"Today we are fighting as one people and one nation... We are witnessing the birth of new Mauritian spirit."

- 'It was everywhere' -

After the spill Tatayah raced to Ile aux Aigrettes, a protected wildlife sanctuary off the coast.

His team had little protective gear early on, but could not risk delay.

"There was so much of it coming down that it was pointless trying to mop small patches. It was everywhere. We were right in the middle of it," he said.

There was a lot at stake.

Ile aux Aigrettes is an ecological treasure, boasting ancient plants and endangered species.

Conservationists managed to evacuate a number of indigenous birds and plants -- "the rarest of the rare" -- but not all: a dead native green heron was found coated in black tar.

"This is 36 years, 40 years of our lives. So we're pretty upset about it... We pride ourselves in our work. It becomes part of our DNA," he said.

There is anger too and many want to know why more wasn't done to anticipate this disaster.

"This government should have asked for help since day one," said Berenger.

Mauritius dodges second oil spill as fuel pumped from stricken ship
Port Louis, Mauritius (AFP) Aug 12, 2020 - Mauritius avoided a second catastrophic oil spill Wednesday after salvage crews pumped the remaining fuel from the tanks of a cargo ship that ran aground off its coast, imperilling world-famous wildlife sanctuaries.

The stricken vessel threatens to break apart after more than two weeks stranded on a reef, where it leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel into pristine seas.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said "all the fuel" had been pumped from reservoirs beneath the MV Wakashio bulk carrier, dodging what experts warned would been a crippling blow to an island nation popular with honeymooners and ecotourists.

"It was a race against the clock, and I salute the excellent work to prevent another oil spill," said Jugnauth, who added that another 100 tonnes still remained elsewhere aboard the Japanese-owned ship.

"The weather was calm and it helped the pumping exercise, it also prevented the breakup of the boat, which is inevitable."

Mauritius declared an unprecedented environmental emergency last week as the Wakashio, which ran aground on July 25, began seeping oil into a protected marine park boasting unspoiled coral reefs, mangrove forests and endangered species.

Jugnauth said the "ecological crisis" was beyond the scope of the tiny Indian Ocean nation, and appealed for urgent international help.

France and Japan were among those to answer the call, along with thousands of ordinary Mauritians who volunteered day and night to clean sludge from the picturesque tropical coastline to which their economy is deeply tied.

Jugnauth acknowledged there was "still a lot of work to do" assessing and cleaning up the damage, but refused to take responsibility for the disaster.

"How did I do wrong?" he said, adding bad weather hindered efforts to pump oil from the ship earlier.

"We did everything right from the start. We were told that the risks of an oil spill were very low. The experts convinced us otherwise."

Police have launched an investigation into the accident and have seized the black box, log book and other items of interest from the vessel as part of their inquiries.

- Wildlife jewel -

Fresh cracks appeared in the hull this week near the fuel reservoirs, spurring fears that the Wakashio could soon split up and inflict irreversible damage on the archipelago's fragile marine ecosystem.

The ship struck a reef at Pointe d'Esny, an ecological treasure fringed by idyllic beaches, colourful reefs, sanctuaries for rare and endemic wildlife, and protected wetlands.

Aerial images showed huge stretches of crystal-clear seas around the marooned cargo ship stained an inky black.

Pressure has mounted on the government to explain why it did not act earlier, with calls for the fisheries and environment ministers to resign, and volunteers angrily defying official orders to stay away from the clean-up site.

Mauritius and its 1.3 million inhabitants depend crucially on the sea for food and ecotourism, having fostered a reputation as a conservation success story and a world-class destination for nature lovers.

The spill is a double blow for tourist operators who had hoped foreign tourists could soon return.

The country has no active cases of coronavirus and had declared a wary victory after a long stretch without any new infections, but its borders remain closed.

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