Poland, Russia alarmed over oil slick

WARSAW, Poland, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A 19-mile-long oil slick was floating from central Poland down the Vistula River toward the Baltic Sea, alarming Polish and Russian environmentalists.

This is the second time in a week oil has flowed into the Polish main river from a ruptured crude oil pipeline, Polish Radio said Monday.

Firefighters worked to collect large quantities of crude oil that spilled in the Vistula Sunday near Plock, 60 miles northwest of Warsaw.

Polish wildlife experts said the oil slick could hurt birds that gather around the river mouth during winter months.

Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of a Russian watchdog group in Moscow, said there could be an ecological disaster if the oil reaches the Baltic Sea, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Russia is concerned about its territorial waters in the Baltic Sea, Mitvol said.