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19 July 2010
Efforts are under way to contain and clean up a large oil slick in the Yellow Sea in northeastern China, after a pipeline exploded.
Friday's explosion at a storage depot in the port of Dalian hit the oil pipeline as a tanker ship was unloading.
The first explosion triggered a second blast from a smaller adjacent pipeline – sending more black oil into the ocean.
Fears of an ecological disaster are rising as the extent of the spill becomes known.
Maritime workers on a large flotilla of skimmer boats are working the spill, off the coast of Liaoning province.
Chemical dispersants are being used and 7,000 meters of boom have been deployed to try and contain the spill.
The deputy director of the Dalian Environmental Protection Department, Wu Guo Gong, is heading up the investigation into the explosion.
Wu says there will be some environmental impact but he does not expect it to affect local residents.
The blaze burned for 15 hours before being extinguished on Saturday by hundreds of firefighters.
Fire crews continue to spray foam on to the oil containers and surrounding area destroyed in the blaze.
The incident occurred at an oil storage site jointly owned by the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation and the port.
Top Chinese officials have ordered a massive clean up and investigation into the incident.
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