Almost a week after 20,000 tonnes of fuel spilled into a river from a power station near the Siberian city of Norilsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a state of emergency in the area.
The spill had happened on May 29 when a fuel tank near Norilsk collapsed. As the power station's employees had initially tried to contain the spill on their own, they did not report the matter to the emergency services for two days, CNN quoted Evgeny Zinichev, head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as saying during a Wednesday meeting chaired by Putin.
According to Russian news agency TASS, the Maritime Rescue Service has removed more than 100 tonnes of fuel. A spokesperson informed TASS that the operation was being conducted with the help of special equipment.
Three criminal cases were initiated on charges of land deterioration, water pollution and violation of environment protection rules.
