Russia declared a federal state of emergency in the Krasnoyarsk region as pollution from a diesel spill in the Arctic city of Norilsk. The Investigative Committee, a law enforcement agency, said a fuel tank at a power station in the remote, industrial region lost pressure and leaked 20,000 tonnes of fuel and lubricants, a huge part of which flowed into the Ambarnaya River. The Ambarnaya River flows into Lake Pyasino – a major body of water and source of the Pysaina River. Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue with anger during his videoconference with the officials. During the meeting, several government bodies gave different viewpoints. He was shocked that officials found out about the major leakage disaster about two days later.
The leaked oil turned the Ambarnaya river crimson red about 12 km away from the accident site. In aerial footage published by the RIA news agency, an extent of crimson water could be seen stretching from shore to shore down a river. The state fisheries agency said that the river might take decades to recover.
The country somehow managed to control this massive diesel spill. Special containment booms were installed to prevent the spill. Local authorities claimed that the leak did not spread out of control and around 7 miles of the area got contaminated. A spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry told “We have stopped the spread of the petroleum products, they are contained in all directions; they are not going anywhere now.” Clean up process in the Arctic has already started and as per the sources around 100 tonnes of fuel got removed. The plant is owned by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s leading nickel and palladium producer. The plant owner Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s richest man with an estimated wealth of USD 25 billion, promised to pay the damages in penalty in addition to making cleanup efforts. This is not the first time Norilsk Nickel has been involved in oil spillages but an incident of this sort has never happened in the Arctic before. The oil spill is so bad that it’s even visible from space.