Serious diesel spill in Lågen – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio

Several people smelled a strong diesel smell in the center of Kongsberg on Tuesday afternoon. That same evening, it was established that there was diesel in Lågen. There may be an emission of up to 24,000 liters of diesel. – We both saw and smelled that there was diesel in the water, says Jan Robin Herregaarden, head of the Kongsberg fire brigade. Ice makes it difficult for the Fire Service to get an overview of the spill. Photo: Eivind Bulie / news Kongsberg fire brigade has laid out bilges in Lågen to collect diesel. A bilge is a roll stretched across the water to absorb and block the diesel spill. – It is a difficult job because parts of Lågen are covered in ice. This means that we do not get an overview of the spread and we do not get to place lances in desirable places, says Herregaarden. – Large discharge The water masses move quickly in Lågen, which extends to Larvik. – This is a large spill and a serious incident that we take very seriously. Now we will work to map the extent of the damage and find out what we can do to limit the damage, says municipal director Per Morstad. Work continues on Wednesday to prevent the further spread of diesel. Animals that stay along Lågen are followed up by Viltnemda. The fire service does not have an overview of how wildlife has been affected by the diesel spill. – But I am aware that some ducks have been euthanized as a result of the diesel spill, says Herregaarden. Must investigate the incident The police have opened a case into the spill. – We suspect that the discharge comes from a petrol station in Kongsberg, but we do not yet know what has happened. The police will now investigate the incident, says police attorney Bjørn Bakko in the South-East police district to news. It is assumed that the emission comes from the Shell Express petrol station. Communications manager at Shell, Lillian Aasheim, says that they have closed the station pending further investigations. – We are aware that the landowner of the plot of land on which the station is located had ground surveys carried out on Tuesday, and are investigating whether there may be a connection between the leak and ground drilling which was carried out here on the same day, says Aasheim. Aasheim says that the gas station will remain closed until they have an overview of the situation.



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