Polluted river in China: authorities do their best to stop pollution

The spill of 60 tons of coal tar into the Dasha river in north China's Shanxi province was the latest in a series of mishaps to degrade the country's already polluted waterways. Officials said there have been at least 76 water pollution accidents in the last six months.

Photo: Polluted river in China: authorities do their best to stop pollution

A villager who lives along the river described seeing dozens of dead fish floating in the water, according to the AP.

In a separate incident on Thursday, a series of explosions rocked the Longxin Chemical Plant in the city of Longquan, Zhejiang province, destroying two factories and threatening to contaminate the Oujiang river, which empties into the East China Sea, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

A spring that feeds the Oujiang lies close to the blast site. Large amounts of sand and stones were trucked to the site to stem the intake of the spring in an effort to prevent any waste water from contaminating the river, Xinhua said.

One person was injured and two people were reported missing after the blast.