MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti) - A fuel slick stretching over 150 kilometers (93 miles) has formed off Norway's south coast from a damaged Chinese-owned freighter that ran aground four days ago, Russian officials said on Tuesday.
The Panama-registered Full City, a dry-bulk vessel, was grounded in shallow waters near Langesund during stormy weather in the early hours of Friday. The vessel had been carrying 1,120 tones of diesel oil.
"The Russian Natural Resources Ministry is concerned over the situation surrounding the fuel spill in the North Sea, off Norway's coast," the ministry said in a statement.
Norwegian representatives of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have said that the leak could cause severe environmental damage, threatening bird populations. The group has called on volunteers to help with the clean-up operation.
A spokesman for the rescue team working at the site earlier said that all of the 23 crewmembers have been evacuated, and that the vessel may sink.
Twenty-five vessels have been brought in for cleanup work.
