Guyana cyanide leak `a disaster'

Georgetown - President Cheddi Jagan of Guyana designated a large swath of territory south of the capital as an environmental disaster zone after cyanide from a Canadian-owned gold mine seeped into the Omai river, which joins the Essequibo, Guyana's largest river. Mr Jagan pledged to take all possible steps to contain the contamination from the deadly poison that was discovered at the Omai gold mine last Saturday.

There have been no reports of deaths as yet from the cyanide leak. "The focus is on stopping the spill and on protecting our people and our environment," Mr Jagan said. AFP