Two weeks ago, a British cruise ship took sail to the Indonesian ocean with hundreds of tourists. It accidentally destroyed extraordinary coral.

The locals are “devastated” at this news and say that the coral has always been a great sight to the village throughout the years. Lots of tourists visit the reef each year and will be a big miss. Around 1,600 square meters of the coral has been thought to be damaged.

Ruben Sauyai said to the BBC he was in “tears” after hearing about it, for he is a local diving instructor. The ship didn’t get the tide times correct and took the wrong course according to sources. A tugboat was then sent out to refloat the boat, but that just made matters worse and destroyed more of the reef.

People say that the British company should pay up around £1.7 million pounds in compensation. Lots of people are trying to raise money to repair the great reef.

By Adam, Year 7