Investigators from Russia detained three managers of an Arctic power station linked to the huge fuel spill that polluted the area about a month ago, as wind, rain and cold impacted the clean-up operations.
To remind, Vladimir Putin declared the City of Norilsk in state of emergency after 20,000 tonnes of diesel fuel spilled into a river inside the Arctic Circle.
Now, Reuters reports that the federal Investigative Committee is conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the spill. According to the investigators, they detained the head of the power station, along with the chief engineer and his deputy, suspecting them of continuing to use an unsafe storage tank that had needed major repairs since 2018.
The weather worsened the spill, with Roman Vilfand, head of science at the weather forecaster Hydrometcentre, commenting that bad weather was hampering the clean-up operation.
In the meantime, Nornickel stated that they would be in position to draw off the fuel from the river within 10-14 days.
