MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Fuel oil was detected in four districts along almost 15 km of the Crimean coastline on Friday, following a recent accident involving two Russian tankers, according to the Main Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Crimea.
"Today, while monitoring the coastal zone, petroleum products were detected in four municipalities, covering a total length of 14.38 kilometers," the emergency ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
According to the emergency ministry, pollution was found in the Kerch, Yevpatoriya, Saksky and Leninsky districts, and on the Tuzla island.
"Ten sea vessels and two aircraft are involved in monitoring the coastal zone and the Black Sea waters," the ministry said, adding that over 500 people and 100 units of equipment are at the site.
On Dec. 15, two Russian oil tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" were damaged in the Kerch Strait near the Black Sea as a result of bad weather conditions. Twenty-seven sailors were rescued and one died following the incident. Around 2,400 tons of oil products were released into the sea, according to the Russian ministry of transport.
In a meeting with government members on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the government's current efforts to mitigate the damage from the incident were "insufficient." The president called for the creation of a commission that would address the disaster and said it was necessary to prevent further leakage of petroleum products from the submerged tankers. ■
