MADRID Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the cause of a toxic spill that has created an ecological disaster in southern Spain, killing wildlife and destroying crops, officials said on Tuesday. Spanish attorney general Jesus Cardenal vowed to use all available legal means to find out what led to last Saturday's rupture at a giant mining reservoir, which sent a wall of poisonous waste pouring into the Guadiama River. Environmentalists blame the owners of the Los Frailes mine, Canadian-Swedish company Boliden, accusing it of failing to properly maintain the reservoir's containment walls.

But company officials have denied any negligence on their part, saying the breach occurred when the ground beneath the holding pool slipped without warning. Financial analysts say the spill could cost Boliden millions of dollars in environmental charges if it is found liable for the damage. Greenpeace said the huge tide of contaminated water and acid mud, diverted away from the vast Donana National Park on Sunday, was killing everything in its path as it moved downstream in rivers and channels to the Gulf of Cadiz. Environment Minister Isabel Tocino said the park a natural wonder designated by the united nations as a world heritage site was out of danger.

But she described the ecological damage to surrounding areas as catastrophic. (Reuter)