Russians deny Arctic oil spill

MOSCOW - Russian officials played down a a US report that a ruptured pipeline in Russia has caused an oil spill eight times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, and that is heading into the Arctic Ocean. The New York Times said the spill began months ago, but a dam built to contain it burst, spilling the crude oil into a tributary of the Pechora river, near Usinsk. 'There is no new leak. This is an old story dating from 1 October,' an Emergencies Ministry duty officer said. He added that the flow had been stopped before it reached the Pechora river basin. 'It was a big accident.

But there's no question of oil leaking in the Barents Sea.' Reuter/AFP