Russia Declares Emergency Following Spill of 20,000 Tons of Oil in the Arctic Circle

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency in the city of Norilsk after a massive oil spill in the Arctic region. An estimated 20,000 tons of fuel from a power plant spilled onto a road, and a large part made its way into an river on May 29.

A “considerable amount” of the oil seeped into the Ambarnaya River in Siberia, Putin said Wednesday during an official meeting about response to the fuel leak. The President appeared shocked to learn that local authorities were first flagged to the incident by social media—two days after it happened and criticized the region’s governor Alexander Uss during the televised meeting, Reuters reported. “What — are we to learn about emergency situations from social networks? Are you alright healthwise over there?” Putin said.

The leak was caused by “accidental damage to a diesel fuel storage tank” at a plant operated by a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel and a cleanup effort is underway. The company, which is a major producer of palladium, high-grade metal nickel, platinum and copper, said it would “do its maximum” to resolve the issue Tuesday on Twitter.

The government’s environmental agency is assisting the company with “joint aerial inspections” of