The Larraitz neighborhood of Alegia woke up yesterday to a strong diesel odor due to an unknown spill. The incident occurred in the Amezketa stream, before it flows into the Oria river. The Ertzaintza (Basque police) attended the scene and is investigating the potential source of the leak upstream.
School students were among the first to notice the leak. "When we arrived at school around 8:00 AM, it smelled a lot," they recalled. When they left class for lunch, they stopped again to look at the stream. The smell was no longer as strong, but the diesel patches were still visible. "This is very serious, isn't it?" they wondered.
The origin of the leak is unknown, although residents living near the stream suspect it could come from a company on the outskirts of the neighborhood or even from one located towards Amezketa. Municipal brigade workers called 112 upon smelling the odor and seeing the patches on the water's surface. Mid-morning, an Ertzaintza patrol arrived to clarify the source of the leak and inspected the stream at various points.
The spill was "quite significant, it wasn't just 5 liters," they commented, as patches were still visible in some areas by lunchtime. Nevertheless, "it doesn't seem to have affected the fish because none are seen dead," they noted with relief. With the recent heat, there is less water in the rivers, and the environmental damage could have been greater.
The spill reached the Oria river, where the stream flows into it in Alegia. The patches gradually dissolved, although the smell in the air downstream indicated it had already spread.
