A Russian state official warned on Wednesday that an abandoned chemicals factory in Siberia could cause an environmental disaster akin to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident unless urgent action is taken to tackle it.

The Usolyekhimprom plant, which produced chlorine and other chemicals in the Irkutsk region, was abandoned due to bankruptcy in 2017, according to Russian news agencies. But the factory still contains an array of toxic substances, the head of state environment watchdog Rosprirodnadzor said.

The official, Svetlana Radionova, said she had recently visited the facility and, among other things, discovered wells filled with oil waste that could potentially burst and flow into the Angara, a major Siberian river.