Russia warned on Saturday of serious ecological damage from a big oil spill in the Black Sea caused when 2 tankers collided in a storm near Crimea, which stated a state of emergency.One tanker sank and another ran aground on December 15 in the Kerch Strait between Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula.Thousands of volunteers have actually been mobilised for clean-up operations that have actually been criticised as insufficent by some Russian scientists.The tankers were bring 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, around 40 percent of which may have spilled into the sea, according to authorities.
The scenario is genuinely crucial, said Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov, priced quote by Russian press firms.
It is unfortunately impossible to determine for the minute the degree of the ecological damage but professionals are working regularly on it, he said.The Moscow-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksionov, said on Telegram he had declared a state of emergency situation because of the oil items spill in the Kerch Strait.
Russias transport ministry insisted on Saturday that all contaminated water areas that have been identified have been cleaned up and no repeating contamination has been discovered.
But Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov was more cautious, saying: The danger of a brand-new fuel oil leak in the Black Sea from the tankers and spills on the coast persists.
President Vladimir Putin earlier this month called the oil spill an eco-friendly disaster.