Some of the oil that had leaked into the Daugava River from a damaged pipieline in Belarus has already reached Livani.
Latvia's State Fire and Rescue Service head Ainars Pencis told BNS that oil spill booms had been placed in the river by the city of Daugavpils, but part of the pollution still managed to go through. "It is hard to tell whether the oil products leaked beneath the booms or got through them otherwise," Pencis said.
Rescuers plan to collect the diesel fuel by the Plavinas hydro power plant, where Daugava's stream is slower.
State Environment Service general director Vilis Avotins said that "the situation is worse than expected 's the pollution is still coming from Belarus, and it is not reducing, quite the contrary."
Latvian Environment Minister Raimonds Vejonis has requested urgent information from his Belarus counterpart Leonty Khoruzhik on the real size of the pollution with the diesel fuel.
The oil pipeline accident that happened in Belarus last Friday resulted in the pollution of the Ulla, a tributary to the Daugava. Thus some of the oil products leaked into the Daugava and reached Latvia on Monday morning.
This is not the first case when Belarus leaks harmful substances in the Daugava.
