April 24, 2026
Fire at Russian oil terminal enters 4th day as toxic smoke and ‘oil’ rains blanket port city
A fire at a marine terminal in Tuapse entered its fourth day before firefighters gained the upper hand. By the morning of April 24, the Krasnodar Krai emergency operations center reported that crews had contained the blaze and extinguished the open burning. Work to fully put out the fire was continuing, the center said, with 276 personnel and 77 pieces of equipment on scene.
TL;DR
- A fire at the Tuapse marine terminal, initiated by a Ukrainian drone strike on April 20, lasted for four days.
- The blaze caused severe air pollution, including 'oil' rains, and soot contamination in residential areas.
- Official air quality monitoring initially reported no exceedances but later acknowledged benzene, xylene, and soot concentrations two to three times above permissible levels in certain neighborhoods.
- Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the authorities' communication, transparency, and handling of the environmental impact, including school closures and cleanup operations.
- The port had previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones, leading to a petroleum product spill that contaminated local waterways and the Black Sea, with containment efforts overwhelmed by heavy rains.
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