Koh Samet, Thailand (CNN) -- A picture postcard beach on one of Thailand's most popular tourist islands is now the focus of frantic efforts to staunch a tide of oil sweeping ashore. Where pleasure seekers would normally relax on pristine white sand, sandwiched between two lush green headlands, now white-coated cleanup crew smeared with crude suck oil from the shallow waters. Gobbets of oil lie along the beach, a thin sheen covers much of the wet sand and oil-drenched booms lie like giant black snakes along the shoreline. The sea is a rust red color and the odor of fuel hangs heavy in the air. Not even a brisk onshore wind can keep the smell away.
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Crews working to clean up oil spill on Thai beach at Koh Samet
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Crude spilled on Saturday during transfer of oil from tanker to undersea pipeline
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50,000 liters of oil spilled into the water, though some say it could be more
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PTT says remaining crude will be "90% clear by Friday or Sunday at the latest"
About 600 soldiers, volunteers and workers from @placeholder, the partially state-owned oil giant that has claimed responsibility for the spill, are involved in the cleanup.