Russia-appointed officials in Crimea declare emergency as oil spill reaches Sevastopol

Russia-appointed officials in Moscow-occupied Crimea have announced a regional emergency after oil was detected on the coast of Sevastopol. The city is the largest in the Crimean Peninsula. Fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers nearly three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait close to eastern Crimea. An official said Saturday that oil was found on four beaches in the region but that there was “no mass pollution of the coastline in Sevastopol.” Officials in Russia's southern Krasnodar region said Saturday that nearly 7,000 people were still working to clean up the spill. More than 96,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been removed along the region’s shoreline.