Oil slick spotted in the Volga being trapped

VOLGOGRAD. November 11. KAZINFORM Workers of the municipal rescue service began collecting an oil slick discovered in the Volga in the Volgograd area on Thursday. "The oil slick, possibly, of engine oil, was spotted at about 11:00 Moscow time in the area of the ninth pier of the Volgograd river port," a source in the main agency of the Ministry for Emergency Situations for the Volgograd region told Itar-Tass on Thursday; Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass.

"Harbor booms have been placed. The oil slick up to 200 meters wide and about one kilometer long is being collected. It is planned to complete the operation at 17:00 Moscow time," the source in the ministry said.

"The population is not in danger; there is no danger either of engine oil getting into municipal water intake structures," said the source.

Staffers of the environmental public prosecution office and of the regional environmental protection service are working at the scene of the incident. Most experts believe engine oil leaked from some vessel plying the Volga. It must be established from which vessel.