Environmental disaster in the Black Sea

Hundreds of volunteers and rescue workers continued to clean up the coast of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia on Wednesday. The two ships, the Volgoneft 239 and the Volgoneft 212, were carrying about 9,200 tonnes of fuel oil, a heavy, low-quality petroleum product. According to preliminary estimates, 3,700 tonnes of fuel oil spilled into the sea, the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. Russian news agencies said that satellite data showed the oil continued to leak from one of the ships and spread towards the coast. Experts are still working to assess the impact and extent of the oil spill.