Close to 100 tonnes of dead fish hauled out of polluted Polish river

Firefighters have pulled almost 100 tonnes of dead fish from the River Odra, a Fire Brigade official said on Tuesday.

The Odra, Poland's second longest river, has been polluted by a still unidentified toxin that has killed thousands of fish in one of Poland's worst environmental disasters in recent years.

Over 500 firefighters have been deployed to help in the clean-up operation.

Monika Nowakowska-Brynda, from the State Fire Brigade, told PAP that a total of 97.95 tonnes of dead fish have already been removed from the River Odra, which flows along part of Poland's border with Germany, as well as from the River Neru.

She added that firefighters have also put up ten floating barriers which were facilitating the removal of the fish from the waters.