Bunker oil on the Black Sea beaches: a state of emergency has been declared in Kerch.

The Russian city head Oleg Katorgin earlier today urged residents to join the cleanup efforts, reports Krym.Realii. He referred to the spills as "isolated incidents."

Two Russian tankers, "Volgoneft 212" and "Volgoneft 239," sank in the Kerch Strait on December 15. Preliminary reports suggest that the cause of the incident was the crew's erroneous actions in poor weather conditions.

The tankers were transporting approximately 9,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The primary spills have impacted the Krasnodar Krai coastline so far. According to Russian authorities on Saturday, 54 kilometers of the coastline in the region have been contaminated with oil products, which is more than reported a few days ago, despite ongoing rescue operations.

Thousands of people are involved in the cleanup. Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratiev stated that it may take about a month to clean the beaches. Volunteers report that there is a shortage of equipment for cleaning the coastline, and that oil is leaking back out of bags containing contaminated soil, reported the Kavkaz.Realii editorial team.

Head of Greenpeace research laboratories Paul Johnson told "Meduza" that the accident could become one of the largest man-made disasters in the Black Sea area. Up to 10,000 birds may be in the danger zone, and oil from the sunken tankers could seep into the water for a long time.