Sabotage blamed for 'ecological disaster' in Lambro River

AFP - Tonnes of oil spilled into a river near Milan after a sabotage at an ex-refinery, a spokeswoman for the Lombardy region of northern Italy told AFP Wednesday.
  
"The oil spill came from Monza, passed Milan and is currently in the area of Lodi" said spokewoman Monia Maccarini.
  
The spill is currently moving along the Lambro river, and threatens to pollute Italy's longest river Po, of which it is a tributary.
  
Maccarini said the amount of oil involved was at least 1,000 cubic metres (35,315 cubic feet), and "probably much more".
  
She added that the handling of the spill was entrusted to Italy's civil protection agency, while Milan's prefecture has set up a crisis unit.
  
The spill began at around 4 am after someone broke into the deposit of the ex-refinery Lombardi Petroli in Villasanta, near Monza and opened the faucets.
  
Hundreds of birds, have already died because of the spill.
  
Legambiente, Italy's largest environmental organisation called the spill "an ecological disaster without precedent for the Lambro ecosystem."