A spill of up to 150,000 liters of diesel oil from a broken pipeline in northern China has reached the Yellow River, the drinking water source for millions of people.
State media say the spill in an upstream tributary reached the massive river Monday. Thousands of people in northern China have been told to stop using water from the Yellow River.
The diesel oil spilled last Wednesday from a ruptured pipeline into the Wei River. That pipeline in Shaanxi province is owned by China National Petroleum Corporation. China's official news agency, Xinhua, says the company immediately closed the pipeline when the leak was discovered, but not before about 150,000 liters had spilled out.
Hundreds of workers dug diversion channels and built floating dams on Sunday, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to keep the leak from reaching the Yellow River.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
