Russia declares state of emergency after massive oil spill in Arctic Circle

Russia has declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of oil seeped into the Ambarnaya river. The spill was caused by a collapsed storage tank. A subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, one of the world's largest producers of palladium, nickel and copper, operates the plant. Russia's Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the incident and detained a manager at the site.

President Vladimir Putin has declared a state of emergency in a region within the Arctic Circle in far northern Russia after 20,000 tons of oil leaked into a river from a power plant.

The spillage occurred on May 29 when the “oil products” leaked from a tank in an industrial plant operated by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and one of the largest producers of nickel, platinum and copper.

“The accident took place at the industrial site of the Nadezhdinski Metallurgical Plant, and part of the spilled petrochemicals, a considerable amount actually, seeped into the Ambarnaya River,” Putin said as he discussed the incident with officials on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin. He questioned the measures being taken to clean up the fuel leak that took place near the city of Norilsk in the Krasnoyarsk region, within the Arctic Circle.

Discussing how news of the spill emerged in the televised meeting, Putin was reportedly shocked to discover that local authorities had only learned of the incident from social media two days after it happened, and he admonished the region’s governor Alexander Uss, Reuters reported.

“What are we to learn about emergency situations from social networks? Are you alright health wise over there?” Putin said, the news agency reported Wednesday. He then reportedly supported a proposal to declare a national state of emergency in the area as it would assist the clean-up effort.

Norilsk Nickel said on its website that “the accident was caused by a sudden sinking of supporting posts in the basement of the storage tank” and that emergency teams “immediately arrived to the site to start clean up works.” It said the spill happened in a remote area and that no local community had been impacted.

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