Two Russian oil tankers believed to have 29 people on board have sunk in the Black Sea in poor weather conditions and are leaking oil, Russian authorities have announced.
Videos on social media, which have not yet been independently verified, appear to show old vessels in stormy seas.
In one video, a ship is seen nearly totally submerged as black oil spills out into the sea.
The vessels, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, are believed to have been sailing in the Kerch Strait which separates Russia from Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Russia has been occupying since 2014.
At least one person is thought to have died.
A rescue and clean-up operation is under way involving tugboats, helicopters and more than 50 personnel, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Russia’s federal sea and inland water transport agency, Rosmorrechflot, wrote in a statement: “Today, as a result of a storm in the Black Sea, two tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, sank.
“There were crews of 15 and 14 people on board the ships. The accident resulted in a spill of oil products.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who still funds his illegal war in Ukraine with oil revenues, has ordered a working group to be led by Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev and tasked with dealing with the incident.
Authorities are investigating for criminal negligence.
The full extent of the spill us unknown, but both tankers have a loading capacity of about 4,200 tonnes of oil, according to Reuters news agency.
Social media users have expressed concern and despair at the potential ecological damage such a spill could pose.
One said: “Russia is a threat to all of Europe with its old tankers carrying oil and oil products! A catastrophe could happen at any moment!”
