Efforts Underway To Eliminate Oil Spill On Ob River Channel In Siberia - Emergencies

NOVOSIBIRSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2021) Rescue teams have rushed to remove oil and chemicals spilled in a shallow channel of the Ob River in the Novosibirsk region covering an area of about 100 square meters (1,076 square feet), the regional emergency services said on Monday.

On Sunday, an eyewitness told the authorities that the coastline of Rybachiy Island was found to be polluted with oil products, with contaminants found in puddles on a partially shallow channel of the Ob River. Rescuers and representatives of the local administration rushed to the scene.

"Upon arrival, traces of oil products were found on the shallowed water section of the Ob River channel. Rescuers found that the rainbow spots were presumably formed by a barge being recycled.

To prevent the spread of contamination ... an eight-meter-long boom was installed in the area. There are no threats of pollution of the Ob River," the authorities said in a statement, adding that efforts to liquidate the consequences are underway.

The emergency situations and fire safety commission is scheduled to meet later on Monday to make decisions on the collection and disposal of contaminated soil, the statement added.

The Novosibirsk Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor's Office organized an audit of the incident, checking the implementation of legislation on environmental protection and nature management.

The alleged source of pollution is a scrapped sunken barge, prosecutors added.