BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2007

Russian oil pipeline ruptures, spilling tons into river: Belarusian officials

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - A ruptured Russian pipeline spilled about 100 metric tons (110 U.S. tons) of diesel oil into a Belarusian river that flows into Latvia, Belarusian and Latvian officials said Monday.

The rupture happened Friday on the Unecha-Ventspils pipeline in northern Belarus but was only announced by authorities Monday.

Latvian authorities said the spill had been detected in the Daugava River near the border town of Kraslava. Vilis Avotins, head of Latvia's State Environmental Protection Bureau, told the Leta news agency that diesel fuel could be seen along a 20 kilometer (12 miles) stretch of the river. Efforts to prevent the spill from spreading further were being hampered by the rapid current.

Belarusian officials said earlier that only about 15 kilometers (9 miles) of river in Belarus had been affected, but gave no further details.

"The main spill has already been liquidated and we hope that in one to two days, we'll be able to clean up all of the affected areas," said Alexander Apatskiy, a official from Belarus' natural resources ministry.

Pipeline owner Yugo-Zapad Transneftprodukt had no immediate comment on the spill.

Source:

http://www.kyivpost.com/bn/26342/