Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency on Wednesday and lectured the boss of a subsidiary of the mining giant Norilsk Nickel after a serious fuel leak in an Arctic river. One of the diesel tanks at a thermal power plant collapsed on Friday, causing more than 20,000 tonnes of oil to leak near the Arctic city of Norilsk.
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Officials at the plant, which belongs to NTEK, a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, have been slow to respond and take action to limit pollution, senior officials told a videoconference to Putin, who then lectured NTEK boss, Sergey Lipin. " Why were government agencies not informed until two days after the fact? Are we going to learn emergency situations on social networks? Asked Vladimir Putin. " Is everything all right in your head?" ", He continued, addressing Mr. Lipine.
Krasnoyarsk region governor Alexander Ouss said he did not learn " the real magnitude of the situation " until Sunday, " after alarming reports on social media ." NTEK, however, denied having reacted late. Putin also said declaring a state of emergency at the national level was necessary to mobilize more resources to limit the damage. The Russian Investigation Committee announced the opening of three criminal investigations and the arrest of an employee of the thermal power plant.
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WWF expert Alexei Knijnikov told AFP that the NGO had warned specialists in clean-up operations after learning of the incident from its sources. “ The volumes are enormous. It was hard to hide, ”he said. According to him, the company did not respect the safety instructions requiring the installation of earth dams around the fuel tanks, to avoid leaks off the site. The Ambarnaïa river, affected by pollution, will be difficult to clean because it is far from the roads and is not navigable because it is shallow, said Mr. Ouss.