Thousands of fish were found floating dead on the Oder river near the eastern town of Schwedt that runs through Germany and Poland, sparking warnings of an environmental catastrophe as residents are informed to stay away from the water.

Germany blames Poland 

German officials accused Polish authorities of failing to inform about the deaths, as the fish are believed to have washed upstream from Poland where first reports of mass fish deaths were made by local residents as early as last month. Not just fish have died, but also mussels and likely countless other water creatures.

In Poland, the government itself was heavily criticized for failing to act quickly on the matter, with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stating that it was initially believed to be a local issue but later disclosed that the impact of the incident is large, with the Oder river needing years to go back to its natural state. 

"Probably enormous quantities of chemical waste was dumped into the river in full knowledge of the risk and consequences," added Morawiecki, as German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke urged a comprehensive investigation into what she referred to as an impending "environmental disaster". 

Unusual death circumstances

Axel Vogel, Environment Minister for Brandenburg state, said, "This fish death is atypical," predicting that "undoubtedly tons" of fish have perished.

The death of fish is usually a result of the distortion of oxygen levels when water levels are too low, Vogel explained, adding, "But we have completely different test results, namely that we have had increased oxygen level in the river for several days, and that indicates that a foreign substance has been introduced that has led to this…” 

Early reports had suggested indications of extremely high levels of mercury, and following another batch of preliminary results, high levels of salt were also detected. However, considering that the results were inconclusive, further test results on heavy metals and mercury were pending. 

"If it is quicksilver, then it will also stay here for a long time," he said, noting that mercury would likely not disintegrate and would then remain in the sediments of the water. 

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