A barge sank on Wednesday in the Nile River in southern Egypt and caused an oil spill, threatening the city's water supply, Egyptian media reported.
Environmental authorities have rushed to the site to contain the spill and salvage the sunken boat in the river's stretch in Naga Hammadi, Qena Governorate, the official MENA news agency said.
The report said the city's president had ordered the closure of the city's major water station if the oil slick spread, Xinhua reported.
The cause of the incident and volume of the spill remained unclear.
On Sept.11, a river barge sank in the same river near Aswan, southern Egypt. The accident caused a leak of some 100 tons of fuel.
The Nile River is a major source of water for about 90 percent of Egypt's population