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| Russian oil tanker splits in half | Russian oil tanker splits in half |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Russian oil tanker has split in half during a severe storm near the Black Sea, spilling around 1,300 tonnes of fuel oil. | |
| A Russian official quoted by the Reuters news agency said it was a "very serious environmental disaster", which would take years to solve. | |
| The vessel was at the Kerch Strait between the Azov and Black Seas when it got into difficulty on Sunday morning. | The vessel was at the Kerch Strait between the Azov and Black Seas when it got into difficulty on Sunday morning. |
| Efforts to rescue the 13 crew are being hampered by harsh weather conditions. | Efforts to rescue the 13 crew are being hampered by harsh weather conditions. |
| The oil tanker, reportedly owned by Russian firm Volganeft, was at anchor when its stern and rear tore apart in the storm, officials said. | |
| 'Sinking to seabed' | |
| "This problem may take a few years to solve. Fuel oil is a heavy substance and it is now sinking to the seabed," said an official from Russia's state environmental protection agency Rosprirodnadzor. | |
| "This is a very serious environmental disaster," Reuters quoted him as telling Russia's state-run Vesti-24 channel. | |
| The accident is reported to have happened in the waters of Ukraine at the strait which divides that country and Russia. | |
| The tanker was thought to have been carrying fuel oil from the southern Russian city of Samara on the Volga River to a port in Ukraine. |