Siberian governor says leaked oil spilled into Arctic lake

Some of 20,000 tons of diesel oil that leaked from a power plant has seeped into a fragile Arctic lake, regional goverr said Tuesday.

Krasyarsk region Gov. Alexander Uss said that it wasn’t immediately possible to assess dam to fish and or natural resources in Lake Pyasi.

Emergency workers have laid booms to block fuel from getting into lake from its tributary, Ambarnaya River, but y have failed to stop spill from spreing downstream.

Uss voiced hope that emergency officials could contain leak and prevent spilled fuel from getting into a river fed by lake that flows into Kara Sea, which is part of Arctic Ocean.

fuel leaked when a stor tank at power plant in rilsk collapsed. Investigators said that that melting permafrost h likely caused collapse.

regional goverr harshly criticized local officials in rilsk for what he described as a “clear disinformation” effort to downplay leak.

power plant is operated by a division of rilsk Nickel, whose giant plants in area have me rilsk, 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) rast of Moscow, one of most heavily polluted cities in world.

director of power plant was charged Monday with violating environmental regulations. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted.