POLISH FIREMEN PULL TONNES OF DEAD FISH FROM ODER RIVER AFTER MYSTERY MASS DIE-OFF

Wed 17 August 2022:

Polish firefighters have pulled 100 tonnes of dead fish from the Oder river since Friday, raising concerns of an environmental catastrophe. The worrisome incident’s cause is still a mystery. In the history of the national fireman press office, Monika Nowakowska-Drynda noted, “We’d never had an operation of this scope on a river.”

The vast operation to rescue dead fish from the river that flows through Germany and Poland involves dams, boats, quad bikes, and even a drone. Around the end of July, fishermen and some villagers discovered thousands of dead fish floating in the 520-mile river.

Environmental activists have raised concerns about the incident leading to a chain reaction that will affect the entire ecosystem. “We have to see how the bird population develops and what will happen to the racoons and otters. It is a catastrophe that will stay with us for years,” Karina Dörk, a district administrator of Germany’s Uckermark region, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

Even though the reason for the catastrophe is unclear, climate and environment minister Anna Moskwa has said that the tested samples haven’t shown the presence of any toxic substance.

The samples have, however, shown elevated salt levels, which could have happened due to low water levels and high temperatures. The possibility of industrial waste water with a high chlorine content being poured into the river is also being explored.

Laboratories in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Britain are also testing the water samples to understand the cause. Poland has offered a reward of one million złoty (approx. $2,17,000) for information about those responsible for the situation.

After reports of the sightings began to surface, the Polish government came under scrutiny for its slow response. As a result of their failure to address the contamination in the Oder river, Polish Waters’ CEO and the head of the environmental protection inspectorate were sacked on Friday.

German officials meanwhile asserted that Polish authorities failed to immediately notify them of the dead fish.