Hundreds of dead seals found in Kazakhstan

Almaty, Apr 18: Hundreds of dead seals, most of them pups, have been found on the Caspian Sea coast of western Kazakhstan but the cause of their death was unclear, the Emergencies Ministry said today.

A ministry spokesman said about the bodies of 500 seals have been washed up on the coast of Kazakhstan's Mangystau region since late March.

''About 50 of them are grown-up seals but the rest are pups,'' the spokesman said. ''It's too early to say what caused their deaths. A special commission is working there to establish the cause.'' The Kazakhstan Today news agency reported the seals could have died of plague infection.

More than 10,000 seals died in 2000 because of chronic intoxication, media reported.

Kazakhstan's section of the Caspian Sea is home to a number of big oil and gas deposits including Kashagan, the world's largest oil discovery in the last 30 years.

Reuters