A leak from an oil pipeline running along the Belaya River in Bashkortostan that has contaminated the drinking water of dozens of villages near the capital Ufa is far larger than was initially reported, Bashkortostan's environment minister, Rustem Khamitov, said on 6 January. The authorities had initially maintained that the spill, which occurred on 27 December, involved only 100-150 tons of crude oil, but they now admit that thousands of tons of oil may have been lost. As of 8 January clean-up workers had recovered more than 560 tons of oil mixed with water and absorbents, and a higher than normal concentration of oil has been found downstream in neighboring Tatarstan. Authorities in Bashkortostan claim they were deliberately misled by the company that runs the pipeline. --- Penny Morvant
9 января 1996г. Радио ``Свобода'' / ``Свободная Европа'' --- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty