Wedding drone photographers in Mauritius are mobilising to help do their part to reduce the massive oil spill off the coast of the island country.

On July 25, a Japanese ship crashed into a coral reef and began leaking oil into Mauritian waters from its cracked hull after it ran aground. The ship was carrying nearly 4000 tonnes of fuel, which is now threatening the island’s marine habitat and coastal ecosystem, according to Al Jazeera. It is the country’s worst ecological disaster in history.

Many residents quickly sprung to action to help, creating makeshift oil spill barriers out of fabric sacks filled with sugar cane leaves.

Wedding drone photographers have also been a massive help. Being a popular wedding and honeymoon destination, Mauritius has a big wedding industry. Many amateur drone pilots form part of the commercial drone market, and are now using their talents to assist in cleanup operations.

Mauritus does not have a Navy or Air Force, which means they could not get effective hyper-local aerial footage of the scene, reports Forbes.

Drone pilots are now filling the gap by flying their drones over the area to identify where the oil spill may be heading, thus helping co-ordinate where the team of volunteers on the ground need to focus on.

With less international business coming in due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mauritian wedding drone photographers have found a way to still use their skills and make a difference.

Feature image: Unsplash