THE Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) has said water levels are impacting its assessment on the severity of a fish kill in a Co Armagh river.
A slurry spill in the Corkley River, close to Keady, was reported to authorities last Saturday, and it is feared hundreds of fish including young salmon and brown trout have died as a result of the pollution.
The spill happened ahead of the upcoming spawning season, and it is understood up to a mile of the waterway - which is a tributary of the Callan River - was affected.
Anglers in the area have said the fish kill is the worst they have ever seen and it is feared the pollution incident could harm other wildlife in the surrounding area.
Upon receiving the report of the spill, NIEA staff collected samples from the river for analysis.
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A spokesperson told the Irish News it "takes incidents such as these extremely seriously and a definite line of inquiry is being followed".
"The investigation is ongoing and NIEA is working with Inland Fisheries colleagues to quantify the scale of the incident," he said.
"The assessment of fish mortalities is still in progress and current water levels are impacting on the assessment as fish, especially juveniles, may be washed downstream beyond the area impacted by the pollution."
The spokesperson added: "As this is a live investigation which may lead to formal enforcement action, it is not possible to provide further details as to the source at this stage".
