Law enforcement authorities probe mass death of fish in central Latvian lake

Law enforcement authorities have started a criminal probe into the mass death of fish in a lake in the central Latvian municipality of Tukums, local media reported Friday.

The investigation was started after four tons of dead fish were removed from Lake Dzirnavu, which has been polluted by sewage, said Julija Nikitina, a representative of the Latvian State Environmental Service.

It is feared that the pollution might have killed even more fish as those that have been exposed to sewage and are suffocating will come to the surface later. The dead fish stocks removed from the water so far include breams, tenches, pikes, sanders and bleaks.

No deaths of fish have been detected in the nearby lakes examined by the environmental service's inspectors.

Authorities presume that the pollution in Lake Dzirnavu has been caused by sewage that leaked into the lake from a damaged water treatment facility in Tukums.

The local authority of Tukums called a meeting for this evening at which it will decide on declaring a state of emergency over the pollution.

An ozonator, a device used to add ozone to water through an aerator, is being installed in the lake to save the remaining fish. Endit