KRASNOYARSK, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - An oil slick caused by an accident at a south Siberian hydroelectric station earlier on Monday is moving down the Yenisei River, a local emergencies spokesman said.
"As a result of a leak of transformer oil, the slick has spread five kilometers downstream from the plant's dam," the spokesman said. "There is no threat to the environment," he added.
The accident occurred early on Monday when the third and fourth water conduits at Russia's largest Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station broke, damaging a wall and flooding the engine room.
Some 60 personnel were at the plant at the time of the accident, Russia's largest power generator, RusHydro, said.
At least seven plant workers were killed and another 11 injured following the accident. Production at the station, which was opened in 1978, was brought to a halt by the flood.
Damage to a wall has already been repaired and the flooding has been stopped. Repair works to the engine room involving 115 people, 98 of them emergencies ministry's personnel, are ongoing.
The accident is believed to have been caused by a hydraulic surge, or a sharp increase in pressure. The damage could amount to hundreds of millions of rubles and take weeks to repair, an official spokesman for RusHydro said earlier.
Russia's emergencies minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that there was no threat of flooding to nearby villages following the accident.
Viktor Zimin, governor of the republic of Khakassia, where the power plant is located, visited the station on Monday and urged local residents not to panic.
The Russian president has ordered aid for the families of the victims.
The accident will affect power supplies, causing a "shortfall" to the Siberian regions of Khakassia, Altai and Kemerovo, local energy authorities have warned.
