Members of the Swedish Coast Guard found an unknown substance floating 200 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide in the middle of the Gulf of Bothnia, says the Swedish broadcaster SR.
Presumably characterization of the leaked substance "huge," SR reported According to the Swedish Coast Guard, the case was probably the largest of its kind, with the exception of the mineral oil spills.
Kalle AholaThe field director of the Western Finland Coast Guard District said on Thursday that the substance was detected in satellite images taken about a day and a half ago.
"The Swedish Coast Guard has been monitoring the situation from the air. There is no certainty or even doubt as to what the substance could be, but it is unlikely to be a mineral-based oil, so no control measures are needed," Ahola explained.
Most of the material had evaporated by Thursday, but samples were taken and are currently being analyzed according to Ahola.
Based on preliminary satellite images, a trace of an unknown substance floating in the middle of the bay was located between the Finnish port cities of Pori and Rauma.
Ahola said he did not know where the substance might have come from.
Source: The Nordic Page