Harbin residents get water back after toxic spill

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2005

HARBIN, China (AFP) — Authorities in the Chinese city of Harbin restored running water to its 3.8 million residents, five days after supplies were cut off due to a massive toxic spill in the city's river, state media said.

The governor of Heilongjiang province, Zhang Zuoji, took the first drink of city water in Harbin, the provincial capital, after supplies were restored at 6:00 pm (1000 GMT), Xinhua news agency reported.

"The water is a little bit hot but tastes very sweet," he said after taking a sip of hot water.

He told Xinhua his action was "meant to reassure the public and dispel their worries."

Some 100 tons of benzene were dumped into the Songhua river, which runs through Harbin, on November 13 after a huge explosion at a chemical plant in...