100 tons of oil leaks into Caucasus canal

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2005

MOSCOW (AFP) — Some 100 tons of oil leaked into irrigation canals in the Russian Caucasus after thieves punched a hold in a pipeline, stole what oil they could and then fled as the oil continued to spew from the puncture, Interfax news agency reported.

The oil polluted a four-kilometer (2.5-mile) stretch of an irrigation canal linked to the Kuban river in the tiny republic of Adygea and a 1.5 kilometer (0.9-mile) section of a nearby drainage ditch, the agency said, quoting a local official with the emergency situations ministry.

The hole in the pipeline was discovered early Sunday but was not plugged for around 12 hours. Floating dams were deployed in the canals to halt the spread of the oil.

Oil pipelines in Russia, notably in the Caucasus mountain region...