The spill occurred on the morning of 15 September at the village of Syndassko on the shore of the Khatanga Gulf. According to sources in law enforcement cited by TASS, the cause was a storm: the water level in the gulf rose, flooding and damaging a fuel tank on the shoreline.
Between 170 and 200 tonnes of diesel leaked from the tank; the exact volume is being established. The tank belongs to the company Taimyr Alliance Trading, which supplies electricity to several villages. The fuel entered the gulf, the regional branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
A criminal case has been opened under Article 246 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers violation of environmental protection rules during the operation of industrial facilities.
Authorities have given differing assessments of the consequences. Taimyr head Alexei Chlenov said that "no clear signs of environmental damage have been found" and that there is no threat to the population. According to him, representatives of supervisory and expert agencies are travelling to the village to take water samples. Local authorities also say that oil products did not enter the body of water from which Syndassko residents draw their water.
Electricity supply to the village has not been disrupted: fuel is being supplied from reserve tanks, with enough stock for 10 days. Chlenov said fuel will be delivered in full from Khatanga in the coming days. He has also been appointed head of the emergency response.
Syndassko is one of the northernmost settlements in Russia. About 500 people live in the village.