Swimmers fall ill after mystery water pollution off Russian coast

Russian authorities on Saturday ordered residents to stay away from a popular beach in the country’s Far East due to unexplained water pollution.

The environmental group Greenpeace dubbed it an “ecological disaster,” saying the pollution made some surfers sick.

Authorities said preliminary tests revealed elevated levels of oil products and the chemical phenol in the water.

Earlier this week, the region’s acting natural resources minister Alexei Kumarkov said tests showed levels of oil products and phenol were 3.6 and 2.5 times higher than usual.

“The only thing it is possible to say now is there are contaminative substances in the water. Final tests are not ready yet,” said Vladimir Solodov, Kamchatka’s regional governor.

Read Deutsche Welle