There are fears of a major environmental disaster in the Oder River, which runs from the Czech Republic to the border between Poland and Germany before emptying into the Baltic Sea. Tonnes of dead fish have been seen floating or washing up on the banks of the Oder in the past two weeks and the matter has erupted into a major scandal. Polish leader Mateusz Morawiecki has vowed to hold those responsible to account and his government has offered a million zloty (£180,000) reward for information. Image: Photo: AP “Huge amounts of chemical waste were probably dumped into the Oder River with full awareness of the risks and consequences,” he said in a Facebook video. “We will not let this matter go. We will not rest until the guilty are severely punished.” Laboratory tests after the mass fish kill found high levels of salinity but no mercury poisoning, meaning the cause of death remains unclear. Some German media had suggested that the river was poisoned with mercury. “The extent of the fish kill is shocking. This is a blow to the Oder as a waterway of great ecological value, from which it will probably not recover for a long time,” said Alex Vogel, environment minister in Brandenburg, Germany. condition. Poland’s national water authority announced Thursday that 10 tons of dead fish had been removed from the river. Hundreds of volunteers were working to help collect dead fish along the German side. Authorities in the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have warned people not to fish or use water from the Szczecin Lagoon.
