Oil spill dirties river east of Syria’s Qamishli
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, the leakage of oil in an old petrol pipeline contaminated a large part of the river that reaches Mizgefte Dam near the town of Tirbespi, east of Qamishli, northeastern Syria.
Maintenance teams of the oil station worked until late Friday night to prevent further quantities of oil from entering the river.
The leak is located in a low-lying area on the Jirih river near the village of Gir Hasnak, north of Tirbespi, which is a river formed by the joint of several springs coming from Turkish lands.
The leak in the pipe, which was an iron pipe laid 40 years ago, according to officials.
Hassan Antar, the Tirbespi oil station head, told North Press that they were able to repair the damage to the pipeline and stop the oil leakage. He added, “The pollution caused by the leakage was very light, but it may have a little impact on the fish stocks in the river, and we will soon finish cleaning the river.”
He pointed out that the quantities of leaked oil could not reach the dam due to the presence of weeds and reeds spread in the riverbed that impeded the passage of the material, but it could be affected by pollution.
Activists on social media have warned that the leaked oil across the riverbed will affect the lives of thousands of birds, livestock, fish, trees, and other plants.
“I do not think that this will have long-term damage to the river and the dam, because we intervened and stopped the leakage in a timely manner and the quantities leaked into the river will decrease with the passage of days,” Antar said.