- Thousands of liters of heating oil leaked near Kerzers in the canton of Friborg – and flowed into several canals near Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Murten.
- According to the Friborg cantonal police, the accident occurred due to carelessness while transferring the oil.
- Swans and beavers have therefore been contaminated with oil. However, no dead fish or other animals have been found so far.
Legend:
Emergency crews have deployed floating barriers to contain the oil and prevent it from spreading.
ZVG/Canton Police Freiburg
The pollution in the affected watercourses of the Freiburg Broye – the Grand Canal, the Broye Canal and the Biberen Canal – has been contained. The floating barriers will remain in place for the time being, the authorities announced on Saturday afternoon.
Maritime police specialists had been deployed to close the Broye Canal from the entrance to Lake Neuchâtel to the entrance to Lake Murten. The canal will remain closed until Monday, the authorities told SRF. There is a shipping ban in effect until further notice.
The fire brigade will continue cleaning the edges of the canal tomorrow, it was said. The contaminated soil on the site was removed and disposed of by a specialist company. The drainages were also cleaned.
Damage to nature is foreseeable
Due to “human negligence” on a company’s premises, the heating oil leaked “while being transferred from a tank to a trailer,” a spokesman for the Freiburg cantonal police told SRF. The authorities have launched an investigation.
Although it is too early to take stock of the damage to flora and fauna, it is “very likely in the medium term” that nature will be damaged.
We urge people to remain vigilant.
According to the authorities, there is no danger to the population. It cannot be assumed that the heating oil affects the public drinking water supply. “However,” the spokesman concludes to SRF, “we cannot rule out the possibility that there could be an impact on private sources. For this reason, we urge people to remain vigilant.”
Being vigilant means paying attention to your senses. The Freiburg cantonal police write on their website: “If the tap water smells of heating oil or has an abnormal color, the tap water should no longer be consumed and the water warden or the municipality should be informed.”