Fishermen and volunteers removed the dead fish from a 200-kilometer (124-mile) stretch of the river north of Olawa in southwestern Poland, the head of the agency that manages the country’s national waters said. Przemyslaw Daca, head of State Water Holding, also called the situation a gigantic ecological disaster. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki vowed to punish those responsible after environmental authorities said they had informed prosecutors of possible contamination of the country’s second-longest river. Image: At least 10 tons of fish were pulled from the river Ewa Drewniak, a biologist who works with the opposition political group Civic Coalition, accused the government of not responding quickly enough. “Dead fish have been flowing in the Oder for the past two weeks and people have not been informed about it, I have seen many people bathing in the river a week and a half ago, they did not know the danger. it’s scandalous,” he said. Regional environmental protection authorities in the Polish city of Wroclaw said Oder water samples taken on July 28 showed an 80% probability of containing mesitylene, a toxic substance, although it was not present in samples taken after August 1. Low river levels due to drought in Europe may have exacerbated potential contamination, Mr Dhaka said on Wednesday. He added that they suspect a strong oxidizing agent may have entered the water, causing oxygen levels to rise, which could harm the fish. Mr. Dhaka also said that there is no need to panic and the situation is improving. Several German districts bordering Poland warned locals to avoid river water and not to eat fish from the Oder, as the cause of the fish deaths was unclear. “The reports from the Oder are simply terrifying,” Michael Kellner, a senior politician in Germany’s Green party, said on Twitter.
