Emergency teams working to clean up the massive oil spill in the Black Sea have detected seven new slicks, worsening the already dire situation, according to Russian official Andrei Pavlyuchenko. Since Dec. 15, about 2,400 metric tons of oil have leaked into the sea after two aging tankers were struck by a storm in the Kerch Strait.
President Vladimir Putin has called the ongoing disaster "one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in years," acknowledging that clean-up efforts have fallen short. Pavlyuchenko reported that the new pollution covers a 9-mile stretch across four Crimean districts and Tuzla Island. To monitor the situation, 10 vessels and two aircraft are now involved.
Thousands of workers and volunteers continue their efforts to clear contaminated sand and earth, while environmental groups have reported fatalities among dolphins, porpoises, and seabirds. Meanwhile, one of the tankers, the Volgoneft 212, split and sank, killing one crew member. Authorities have also reported new leakage from the other vessel, the Volgoneft-239, which ran aground during the storm. "Monitoring groups found that oil products have started to come out of the vessel," the operational headquarters stated on Telegram.
