SEVASTOPOL, December 23. /TASS/. Pollution with petroleum products has been registered in the Black Sea near Crimea from the entry to the Kerch Strait to the local bridge, Sergey Stanichny, an expert on telemetering cooperating with Russia’s Marine Rescue Service, told TASS.

"Contamination near Cape Takil and on until the bridge is clearly visible. Most likely, it is affecting the coast as well, it is hard to say for sure," he said.

The Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239 tankers sank in the Black Sea on December 15 amid a storm. One sailor died, the rest were evacuated. According to the emergency services, the tankers were carrying about 9,200 tons of fuel oil. An oil spill occurred in the Black Sea as a result of the accident. Clean-up operations are underway.

The main volume of the spill affected the coast near Anapa and the Temryuksky District of the Krasnodar Region. On Saturday, after the wind and the spill changed direction, some part of the substance made landfall near Kerch in the Republic of Crimea. Pollutants have been removed within 24 hours.