At least 32 dolphins died in the Black Sea due to fuel oil spill caused by an accident involving two Russian tankers in the stormy Kerch Strait.
Most of the cetaceans died in the first 10 days into the disaster, as reported by the Dolphin Rescue Center Delfa, Ukrinform saw.
“Since the emergency, we have recorded 61 dead cetaceans, of which 32 individuals died after December 15, whose deaths are most likely related to the oil spill. The rest had died before the emergency,” the statement reads.
It is noted that the majority of these cetaceans died in the first 10 days into the disaster, and their bodies are being farther carried away by the sea. The victims were mostly Azov whales, which have always been the most vulnerable cetaceans.