Environmental disaster hits one-third of Austria's River Antiesen

GENEVA

An ecological disaster in River Antiesen has killed all fish in one third of one of the largest bodies of water in northwestern Austria with a catchment area of nearly 260 square kilometers (100 square miles), is dead, according to a local fishing association, public broadcaster ORF reported Tuesday.

All fish in the section have died, according to the fishing association. The disaster was triggered by a slurry spill, it said. According to the association, the ecosystem is now largely destroyed by the slurry leakage.

According to the ORF, a septic tank in the district broke on Sunday afternoon, whereupon 150,000 liters of liquid manure poured into a stream that flows into the Antiesen River.

As a result, the ammonia concentrations in the water there rose to such an extent that no fish survived along a length of about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles), Rudolf Zols, the chairman of the Antiesen-Gurtenbach fishing district, told ORF.

Mainly brown trout and bullheads were affected, he said. From insects to larvae to small and large fish, the food chain is affected and disrupted, he said.

"It is not possible to simply add fish again, because these inserted fish then find no food in this dead body of water," Zols said, speaking of serious effects. The ecosystem is destroyed or thrown out of balance, he added.

The manure spill on Sunday afternoon was not immediately noticed, according to the report. On Monday, the district police then began investigations.