Fears of an environmental disaster are confirmed.
Polish firefighters said on Tuesday they had recovered 100 tons of dead fish from the Oder River which crosses Germany and Poland, while residents have reported since the end of July the presence of thousands of dead animals floating on the surface of the river.
"We've never had an operation of this magnitude on a river before," said Monika Nowakowska-Drynda of the national fire department press office.
She confirmed that around 100 tonnes of dead fish had been recovered since Friday.
According to her, more than 500 firefighters are taking part in this cleaning action.
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Oder: tons of dead fish, fear of an environmental disaster
The cause of their death is uncertain, but authorities suspect chemicals.
“Huge amounts of chemical waste were probably dumped into the river with full knowledge of the risks and consequences,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last week.
The Polish government criticized
Water samples are being examined in Poland and Germany and have also been sent from Warsaw to laboratories in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Great Britain.
The first reports of mass fish kills in the Oder came from Polish locals and anglers as early as July 28.
German authorities accused the Polish government of not informing them of the deaths, and were taken by surprise when the wave of lifeless fish appeared.
In Poland, too, the government has come under fire for not taking swift action.
In recent years, the Oder was known to be a relatively clean river, with around 40 species of fish living there.
