Oil spill in Russia: Images captured from space show diesel in Artic Circle

Washington, June 08: A major oil spill that took place in Russia and affected the Arctic Circle was spotted from space by two satellites of the European Space Agency (ESA). While the Russian officials claimed that the spill had been stopped, this incident prompted the country's government to declare a state of emergency.

The incident took place on May 29 after a power plant's reservoir in the city of Norilsk in Siberia collapsed. In this incident, about 20,000 tons of diesel leaked into an Arctic Circle river.

According to reports, the ESA was able to monitor the incident from space through its Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. The mission, consisting of the twin satellites Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, had two separate launches in 2015 and 2017. The goal of the mission is to study Earth by taking images from orbit.

The ESA was able to spot the areas affected by the oil spill. As seen in the images obtained by the agency, the red-colored oil traveled down the Ambarnaya River before flowing into Lake Pyasino.

Responding to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency. He also slammed the power planet known as NTEK, which is a subsidiary of Norilsk Nickel, for the delay in informing the government regarding the incident.

Almost a week following the incident, officials from Russia confirmed that the oil spill had been stopped and contained. As of June 5, Russia's Emergencies Ministry confirmed that it has already removed 200 tons of fuel in the affected region.