At least one person is killed after the two tankers sustained heavy damage in the Kerch Strait, spilling oil and sparking an emergency rescue operation.

Near the Kerch Strait, two Russian oil tankers malfunctioned, and one of them broke in half. "The disaster could become one of the largest man-made catastrophes in the Black Sea," Greenpeace stated in a comment published by the Russian independent portal Meduza.

A Russian oil tanker, Volgoneft-212, sank in the stormy Black Sea off Crimea's east coast near the Kerch Strait on Sunday. The vessel was carrying 4,300 tons of low-grade heavy fuel oil called mazut. The incident occurred when a large wave hit the tanker, splitting it in half and leaving one of its 15 crew members confirmed dead.