Mourning for 32 animals

More and more dolphins die in the Black Sea

Clean-up operations on the coast after two tankers lost thousands of tons of fuel oil after capsizing in a storm.(Bild: APA/Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service)

More and more dead dolphins are washing up on the shore following the accident involving two Russian oil tankers in the Kerch Strait between the Black and Azov Seas. According to the Russian environmental organization Delfa, there are now 32 animals whose deaths are presumably linked to the spillage of heavy oil in the sea.

We receive new information on dead dolphins practically every day, keep statistics and regularly pass the data on to the state authorities," the organization announced via Telegram. The number of dead dolphins was "atypically high" for the time of year, the ecologists emphasized.

The two tankers that capsized in the storm are said to have been carrying a total of 9,000 tons of fuel oil.(Bild: AP/The Russian Southern Transport Prosecutor's Office)

What happened?
Two tankers loaded with heavy fuel oil capsized in heavy seas in mid-December in the strait between the Russian mainland and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow. Tons of oil leaked into the sea and has been washing up on the beaches of the Russian region of Krasnodar and Crimea ever since. A state of emergency has been declared on site.

Thousands of volunteers are working to clean up the beaches. New oil stains keep appearing. The helpers are also trying to rescue birds contaminated by heavy oil. There was a scandal: ecologists complained that even 90 percent of the birds that were actually rescued later died due to improper handling.

The authorities rejected the accusation as "fake". The proportion of animals that died on the way to being released was less than ten percent, according to the disaster clean-up operation team.