China oil spill after pipe blast 'worse than thought'

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Posted on 2:38 AM by usman shafiq

China is boosting effort to clean up a major oil slick off its north-east coast, following a pipeline explosion.

There are growing fears that strong winds have dispersed the pollution more widely than previously thought.

the oil was up to 20cm thick along parts of the coast near the city of Dalian.

Shipments of oil from the north to the industrial belt in the south have been disrupted since the accident.

At least one person has died during the clean-up operation, after being thrown from a ship by waves and drowning in the oil.

Within 2km of radius of the disaster, the smell of petrol is very strong”

End Quote Zhong Yu Greenpeace

The oil spilled into the sea in north-east China after two pipelines exploded on Friday night, resulting in a fierce fire.