Russian President Putin declares emergency after 20,000 tonnes of fuel spill into river

Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 3 declared a state of emergency in Norilsk after 20,000 tons of diesel spilled into the nearby river due to leakage in the oil tank. According to reports, the leakage took place at a power plant in Krasnoyarsk Krai following which the oil spilled into the Ambarnaya River, polluting it well above the permissible levels. Putin has criticised the firm responsible for the spill and for not informing the authorities for days. 

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As per reports, the oil spill happened on May 29 and the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai region Alexander Uss only learned about the incident on May 31. The diesel fuel leaked from a damaged reserve tank onto a motor road leading to the TPP-3 [thermal power plant]. The accident took place at the industrial site of the Nadezhdinski Metallurgical Plant, and part of the spilled petrochemicals went into the river. Vladimir Putin on June 3 held a meeting on measures being taken to clean up the spill from the area and the river that ultimately flows into the Arctic ocean.

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Pollution effect

Environmentalists are worried about the oil leakage as they feel that marine life in the region will be affected by the spill. As per reports, World Wildlife Fund's Russia branch has said that the estimated damage caused to fish and other resources by the oil leakage could be at 1 billion rubles. The cause of the leakage is still unknown, however, an investigation is being carried out to determine the reason. 

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