A BARGE WITH 850 TONNES OF FERTILIZERS ON BOARD SANK IN THE DANUBE RIVER

A barge with 850 tonnes of fertilizers on board sank in the Danube river,Accident Emergency Warning System (AEWS) of the Danube River announced. The incident happened while maneuvering in the commercial port of Moldova Veche in Romania, at 13.25 local time on 11th of February. There is no information of polluted waters, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Environment said.

As soon as the incident of the sunken vessel was reported, the Danube River Basin Directorate in the city of Pleven sent a request to the international situational centres in Romania and Serbia, asking them to provide information on the results from the water samples, once they are available.

Ivelina Vassileva, Bulgaria’s Minister of Environment and Waters said that according to the information provided from the Romanian authorities, which had already taken samples from the waters around the sunken vessel, there was no pollution. The cargo is well protected and there has been no spills so far. The situation continues to be monitored, she added.

Eng, Pavlin Tsonev, the Director of the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River, said that if there was any pollution, it would reach Bulgaria in 24 hours from the time of the incident, i.e. about 13.00 on 12th of February.

The officials of the basin directorate in the city of Pleven are ready to take samples.