Oil spills have occurred ever since we began to harvest it for various uses, as a result of human error, laziness, or pure ignorance.
Most recently, the devastating Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been all over the news- oil was pouring out of the blown rig for almost 100 days- so you probably won't be surprised to find it on this list. More surprising: there have been worse spills in history.
Remember 1989's Exxon Valdez oil spill? It was heavily referred to during the recent Deep Water Horizon oil spill, yet this oil spill doesn't even make the list. Sadly, the Exxon Valdez spill seems miniscule compared to the other spills on this list.
At a time when people in India are worried about the environmental impact of the oil spill off Mumbai coast, we bring to you the five worst oil spills ever recorded in history.
The list has been prepared on the basis of the amount of oil that was leaked during each disaster.
Image: Feet of fishermen being stained by the oil spill from sinking cargo vessel MSC Chitra in south Mumbai on Tuesday, August 10, 2010. (Photograph copyright PTI)
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