5,000 litres of diesel oil leaked into the Alna River, Oslo
The fire department in Oslo estimates that around 5,000 litres of diesel oil has leaked out in the Alna River on Thursday evening. They believe that the oil booms manage to contain the oil before it ends up in the Oslo Fjord.
– A 15,000-litre oil tank is involved and about 5,000 litres of diesel oil is probably astray. We are not one hundred per cent sure of the amount. It may be less, but we are probably talking about 5,000 litres of oil, says the Commissioner in Oslo Fire and Rescue Service, Stig Henning Duaas, to NTB.
Duaas says there is some oil in the outlet of the Alna River, but he believes the fire service was in place with booms before the oil reached the Oslo Fjord.
– There was no smell when we inaugurated the effort in the area, but it intensified somewhat with more visible oil, and later, with pungent vapours following after the boom was established, the Officer on Duty, informs.
Emptied the oil tank
At night, the fire tank emptied the oil tank at Bring’s area on Alfaset, which is probably the cause of the oil spill. A total of three tankers pumped 10,000 litres of oil out of the tank.
The Oslo fire department has deployed several booms in the river to limit the damage. These will be checked on Friday morning, Duaas states.
Press Officer in The Norway Postal Service (Posten), John Eckhoff, announces in a statement to NTB that there may have been a discrepancy when filling the diesel tank.
– We were made aware of the diesel-leak on Thursday night, and our preliminary investigations indicate that there is basically nothing wrong with the facility itself. One theory is that there may have been an error during the filling the diesel tank on Thursday, which in turn has caused the leak. We will continue our investigations on Friday morning, Eckhoff emphasises.
Police investigation
The police have started investigating the leak, which was reported to the Oslo fire department at 7.09 pm. During the night to Friday, it smelled of the diesel along the river.
– Police and firefighters are on the spot and have made surveys. We have documented many pieces of evidence, but I can not tell you why it has started to leak, says Operations Manager in the Oslo Police District, Rune Hekkelstrand, to NTB.
He says there will be filed a police report if they conclude that someone is behind the leak. The investigation will continue through Friday and beyond.
Only this summer, 50,000 litres of heating oil poured into Alnaelva and further down into the Oslo Fjord, which meant that the bathing facility at Sørenga had to be shut down for a time.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today