“Since this morning, security has been reinforced all along the shoreline. It’s a full state of emergency,” independent environmental consultant Sunil Korwarkasing said after he viewed drone footage of the vessel, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.
The vessel split around 3:40 pm (11:40 GMT) on the reefs of Pointe d'Esny, director of maritime affairs Alain Donat said to a local newspaper.
"The front part is being towed very slowly," Donat was quoted as saying, adding that this part will be sunk at least 1,000 kilometers off Mauritius.
The rear section will be left on the breakers for now, according to the article.
The condition of MV Wakashio had deteriorated greatly overnight and oil residue - which could not be pumped from the bilges – had started to leak from the bulk carrier on Friday, according to the article.
In a race against time, helicopters have been flying between the ship and the coast since early Saturday to siphon off the remaining fuel from the ship, said Korwarkasing.
On Saturday morning, water purification operations also begun in the lagoons, according to the newspaper.
The tanker, which ran aground the Indian Ocean island on July 25, has leaked about 1,000 tons of fuel oil into the popular honeymoon resort's pristine coastal waters, an area home to much rare flora and fauna.
On Thursday, Nagashiki Shipping, the Japanese company responsible for the accident, said the removal of the remaining 3,000 tons of fuel oil from the ship was almost complete.
It was unclear how much fuel oil still remained on the ship on Saturday.
Mauritius declared an environmental state of emergency last week, but authorities have been accused of being slow to act.
Environmental watchdog Greenpeace is demanding a full investigation of the accident, saying it was unclear why the vessel had sailed so dangerously close to the reef and why it took the authorities days to arrive at the scene.
