Oil slick kills thousands of birds in Baltic Sea

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Oil slick kills birds en masse in Baltic Sea 2 hours,

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http://news./s/afp/20060201/sc_afp/estoniaenvironment_060201214513

 

 

 

TALLINN (AFP) - Thousands of birds are feared to have

died in an oil slick off the northwestern coast of

Estonia, where the corpses of 800 have already been

found, officials said.

 

" Probably more than 5,000 birds have died. It is

tragic. Estonia needs to allocate more resources to

avoid catastrophes like this, " Environment Minister

Villu Reiljan was quoted in Eesti Paevaleht newspaper

as saying.

 

The birds were coated in thick oil, which officials

said was probably discharged by a tanker as it passed

Estonia last week.

 

Any one of around 100 oil tankers could have been

behind the slick, the authorities have said, adding

that it was highly unlikely the ship responsible for

the damage to the environment would be found.

 

An analysis of samples of the slick has shown it is a

uniform mix of fuel and oils, indicating it is oil

product waste, BNS said.

 

On Wednesday, President Arnold Ruutel visited the

scene and urged the authorities to better monitor

passing sea traffic and punish the crews of polluting

vessels.

 

" Ship traffic in the Baltic Sea is constantly

increasing, so Estonia must apply necessary measures

to protect the sea, " the president said.

 

A long oil slick was first noticed off the coast of

the Baltic state on Saturday.

 

Since then, rescuers and volunteers have been

collecting oil-coated birds to clean them, and

gathering up dead birds to avoid them being eaten by

other animals.

 

Many of the birds are out at sea, on weak ice, making

the work dangerous and difficult.

 

Ornithologists have said seabirds ranging from mute

swans, different duck species, grebes and seagulls

have been affected by the slick.