Germany's Oder River witnesses mass fish deaths due to chemicals

The Oder river running through Germany and Poland sees thousands of fish dead on the shore due to chemical dumps.

The fish floating by the German banks near the eastern town of Schwedt are believed to have washed upstream from Poland where first reports of mass fish deaths were made by locals and anglers as early as July 28, Daily Sabah reports.

German officials accused Polish authorities of failing to inform them about the deaths, and were taken by surprise when the wave of lifeless fish came floating into view.

In Poland, the government has also come under heavy criticism for failing to take swift action.

Almost two weeks after the first dead fish appeared floating by Polish villages, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday that "everyone had initially thought that it was a local problem."

But he admitted that the "scale of the disaster is very large, sufficiently large to say that the Oder will need years to recover its natural state."

"Probably enormous quantities of chemical waste were dumped into the river in full knowledge of the risk and consequences," added the Polish leader, as German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke urged a comprehensive probe into what she called a brewing "environmental disaster."

The Oder has over the last years been known as a relatively clean river, and 40 domestic species of fish make their home in the waterway.

Officials believe that the fish are likely to have been poisoned.

"This fish death is atypical," said Axel Vogel, environment minister for Brandenburg state, estimating that "undoubtedly tonnes" of fish have died.

Fish death is often caused by the distortion of oxygen levels when water levels are too low, he explained.

In Poland, prosecutors have also begun investigating after authorities came under fire over what critics said was a sluggish response to a disaster.