Fuel oil is seen on the shore near Russia's southern port of Kavkaz November 11, 2007. A Russian oil tanker split in half in a fierce storm in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling at least 2,000 tons of fuel oil. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- A vicious winter storm that whipped up six-meter waves in the Black Sea this weekend smashed a Russian oil tanker, three cargo ships and sank two barges, killing at least five sailors, according to media reports Tuesday.

    The Russian oil tanker split in half in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling at least 2,000 tons of fuel oil.

    Three cargo ships, each carrying more than 2,000 tons of sulphur, also sank in the Kerch Strait. About 6,800 tons of sulphur in total sank within the cargo ships.

    Thick fuel oil deposits clogged beaches around Port Kavkaz, a commercial hub some 1,200 kilometers south of Moscow.

    The Russian and Ukrainian authorities launched a rescue and cleanup operation in the Black Sea on Monday.

    Clean-up crews placed floating spill control fences around the slick by mid-afternoon, and an oil spill clean up vessel based in the Russian port of Rostov-na-Donu was reportedly en route to the scene.

    The scale of the environmental disaster became apparent Monday when hundreds of dying birds, covered in oil, were washed up close to where the Russian tanker broke up.

    Regional governor Alexander Tkachyov declared the oil spill "an environmental catastrophe" after holding a crisis meeting in the regional capital of Krasnodar on Monday.

    "This is the largest oil spill accident in Russia in the 21st century," Vladimir Sliviak, co-chairman of the environmental group Ecodefence, said. "The storm is likely to last two days. Until it finishes we can't really calculate the consequences."

    (Agencies)

Six Russian sailors rescued by Ukrainian ship

    KIEV, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Ukrainian ship has rescued six sailors of a Russian freighter smashed by a severe storm off the Ukrainian port of Ketch on Sunday, but the fate of the other five was unclear, the Emergencies Ministry said. Full Story

Russian oil tanker sinks in Black Sea, spilling 1,000 tons of fuel

    MOSCOW. Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Russian oil tanker split in half in a fierce storm in the Kerch Strait leading to the Black Sea on Sunday, spilling at least 2,000 tons of fuel oil, Interfax reported. Full Story

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