Russia Faces Major Oil Spill Disaster

[rodeodance]

Source: cbs/ap

Russia Faces Major Oil Spill Disaster
Stormy Seas Batter 10 Ships; 8 Sailors Dead Or Missing; Oil Tanker Grounded

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia, Nov. 12, 2007


(CBS/AP) Rescuers on Monday recovered the bodies of three sailors after a Russian freighter sank near the Black Sea, while officials assessed damage from an oil tanker spill that could be the worst environmental disaster in the region in years.

The bodies of sailors from the freighter Nakhichevan were recovered near Tuzla on the western side of the Strait of Kerch, a narrow waterway linking the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. Emergency Situations spokesman Sergei Kozhemyaka said rescuers were looking for five others.

The Nakhichevan was one of two freighters that broke up as 18-foot waves and high winds battered ships throughout the region. As many as 10 ships sank or ran aground in the northern Black Sea region during the fierce storm, including the Volganeft-139, an oil tanker loaded with nearly 1.3 million gallons of fuel oil.

Nearly half its cargo spilled into the strait and was washing up on nearby shorelines in what officials said it could be the worst environmental disaster in the region in years.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/12/world/main3486845.shtml

[CountAllVotes]

1. the Chernobyl of 2007 n/t