Mass fish deaths after diesel spill at Vietnam's oil depot, fields and rivers contaminated

Oil slicks float on the river as responders use absorbent pads to soak them up in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam, December 2025. -- Photo by Thach Thao / VNExpress

HANOI (VNExpress): A diesel spill at an oil depot in the Dung Quat Economic Zone has polluted fields, canals and rivers, killing fish en masse and putting the upcoming winter–spring rice crop at risk, authorities say.

For the past three days, the area around the Bau Ca Cai River in the central province of Quang Ngai has been overwhelmed by the smell of diesel after fuel leaked during a transfer operation at Sub-Depot 85 of Depot 182 under the Department of Petroleum.