Sundarbans oil spill 5 Photos . Updated: 22 Dec 2014, 12:55 AM IST Arati Kumar-Rao The flora, fauna and villagers of the mangrove forests in Bangladesh are battling a man-made crisis 1/5A week after the spill, oil was seen floating in with high tide and entering khals (channels) more than 10km from the site of the disaster. While the dark black viscous heavy fuel oil stuck to the margins, films of oil spread all over the 80km stretch of the Sela river and into numerous khals. Photographs by Arati Kumar Rao. 2/5Fishermen are now collecting plant matter that is coated with oil and then burning it to soften and release the oil. They then fill up barrels and ship it back to Padma Oil, the oil company it came from, for 8,000 takas per barrel. 3/5Oil collectors wait to be towed back to the depot with their collection. 4/5Children are a large part of the labour force cleaning up the oil spill. They man boats, scour the fringes for oil, heat the oil in small stoves on the boats. Prolonged exposure to the compounds within this type of heavy fuel oil is known to be carcinogenic. 5/5A crocodile coated with the viscous heavy fuel oil.