Thousands hit as fuel spill pollutes river

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese have been ordered to stop drinking water from the Yellow River after diesel fuel leaked into a tributary.

The accident is the latest environmental disaster to strike China's waterways, considered to be among the world's most heavily polluted.

The 100 tons of diesel spilled from a broken pipeline last week into the Wei River, which feeds into the Yellow River, a water source for millions.

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Three counties and an industrial zone in western Shanxi province with a combined population of about 850,000 people have been ordered to stop using river water.

The warning yesterday contradicted earlier reports the contaminated water had been contained in diversion channels.

China's second longest river has seen its water quality deteriorate rapidly in recent years as discharge from factories has increased and water levels have dropped because of diversion for booming cities.

The pipeline's owner, China National Petroleum, said last week it had plugged the leak in the pipeline and had removed a "large amount" of contaminated water, mud and sand.

More than 20 per cent of water tested in nearly 200 Chinese rivers was considered unsafe, according to a report in 2007.

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