BELGRADE, Serbia, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A 62-mile-long waste oil slick is moving down the Danube River from Serbia, threatening to pollute waters in Bulgaria and Romania.
Mayor Ivan Tsankov, of the western Bulgarian town of Vidin, said Wednesday local authorities banned using water from the Danube and fishing in the river, the Serbian B92 Belgrade radio reported.
Bulgaria's ecology ministry has demanded an investigation into the pollution by all European countries through which the Danube flows.
Serbia's agriculture ministry in Belgrade said the Prahovo crude oil processing plant, close to the Romanian border, had a mishap Monday when large quantities of various oils spilled into the Danube, making the oil slick about 980 feet wide and more than 62 miles long.
Nikola Marjanovic, director of the Serbian Waters company, said the damage on the Prahovo plant was repaired Tuesday, but the accident inflicted "heavy financial costs and ecological danger," the radio said.
