Russia has managed to contain a massive diesel spill into a river in the Arctic, a spokeswoman for the emergencies ministry told AFP on Friday.

“We have stopped the spread of the petroleum products,” the spokeswoman for the taskforce in charge of the accident clean-up said.

“They are contained in all directions, they are not going anywhere now.”

Environmentalists said the oil spill, which took place last Friday, was the worst such accident ever in the Arctic region.