PONCE, Puerto Rico (1 Sep 2007) -- An oil spill stretching as wide as five miles was discovered off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, where it threatens environmentally sensitive corals and mangroves. Beaches just west of the city of Ponce between Guanica and Guayanilla were closed Friday as the thick shiny material floated closer to shore. Some had already touched land, said U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad. The Coast Guard and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources were still trying to figure out where the oil originated. The spill is dangerously close to Guanica Dry Forest, a United Nations biosphere reserve of 10,000 acres inhabited by more than 600 uncommon types of plants and animals, including 48 endangered species and 16 that are unique to Puerto Rico. | 
