Russia declared a state of emergency on June 3 after a massive oil spill in the Arctic region. Around 20,000 tons of fuel from a power plant in Norilsk leaked into a river on May 29.
The power plant is owned by Norilsk Nickel, a Russian metals mining giant. The oil leaked into the Ambarnaya river that flows into the environmentally sensitive Arctic Ocean. This oil spill is believed to be the second largest in modern Russian history in terms of volume.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a state of emergency was needed to call in more resources for the cleanup effort . Nearly 700 people are involved in the massive clean-up. Experts say that the clean-up could even take anywhere between five to ten years.
