MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. In the past day, rescue workers and volunteers collected some 12.6 metric tons of oil that spilled off Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Anapa following a tanker accident, the Russian emergencies ministry’s press service has told TASS.
"In the past day, rescue workers and volunteers cleared 4.2 km of the coastline, collecting 12.6 metric tons of oil. Containment booms are being installed on Bugaz Spit in Anapa. Around 700 people and 60 vehicles are involved in the effort, which is hampered by strong winds and precipitation," the ministry said.
The Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers wrecked in the Black Sea on December 15 amid a storm. One of them ran aground and all of its crew of 13 were evacuated. However, one of them, a 23-year-old native of the city of Astrakhan, died. The tankers carried about 9,200 tons of fuel oil. The Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport reported that an oil spill had occurred in the Black Sea as a result of the accident. Satellite monitoring data indicated that around 3,000 tons of oil products had leaked into the sea.
On December 17, it was reported that around 35 km of coastline in south Russia’s Krasnodar Territory were contaminated with oil. A state of emergency on a municipal level was declared in several districts. Effort to clean the oil spill is still under way.