An Irrawaddy dolphin's body has been discovered floating in the Shela River five days after a massive spill on the world's largest mangrove forest river.

Syed Zakir Hossain, a photojournalist of leading local newspaper Dhaka Tribune, located the first dead body of the dolphin in the Harintana-Tambulbunia channel of the Shela River flowing through the Sundarbans forest Saturday.

Quoting Hossain, Dhaka Tribune Sunday filed a report in this connection and published an exclusive photo of the body of the floating dolphin.

It said reports of sightings of corpses of other wild animals were already coming in on Friday, but this is the first confirmed sighting of dolphin remains.

Since the Shela River is a sanctuary for two types of dolphins, a major concern after a tanker capsized and went down with over 350,000 liters of oil was the well-being of these sensitive and rare marine creatures.

Environmentalists have expressed grave concerns over the incident, saying that the plants and aquatic resources of Sundarbans would suffer a big blow due to the oil spill in a vast area.

The oil spill poses a serious threat to all the aquatic creatures including the dolphins in that part of the river as the amount of oxygen in the water is likely to decrease, they added.

Oil tanker Southern Star 7, carrying 357,664 liters of furnace oil, sank in the river after being hit by a cargo vessel on Tuesday. The body of the tanker's captain was recovered earlier in the day.

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