Seals found dead on Caspian Sea shores

ALMATY, Kazakhstan - Nearly 250 dead seals have washed up on theshores of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan in the past week, emergencyofficials said Saturday.Authorities were conducting tests to determined what killed the 247seals found by oil workers inspecting the shore in western Mangistauregion, the Emergencies Agency said.Environmentalists have been concerned about increasing exploration ofthe Caspian Sea's extensive oil reserves.Last year, 350 seals and thousands of sturgeon died in a northern partof the Caspian region as a result of a heavy metal leak from theKashagan oil field.Also, several epidemics of a viral disease have killed thousands ofCaspian seals since the late 1990s.