Mass fish deaths in Oder River down to ‘cocktail of chemicals’, says Germany

Incident likely to be ‘multi-causal’, according to Berlin

A dead fish lies in the shallow waters of the Oder River close to the border between Germany and Poland (AP)

A “cocktail of chemicals” could have caused the deaths of thousands of fish in the Oder River, the German environment ministry has said.

Tens of tonnes of dead fish have been removed from stretches of the river in Germany and Poland, but the cause is still being investigated.

In Berlin’s latest update on the search for a cause, a German government spokesperson said: “So far we have several organic and inorganic substances that could be responsible.