50-mile toxic slick flows through Chinese city

A SLICK of river-borne toxins from a chemical plant explosion flowed into a major Chinese city yesterday as the authorities faced increasing criticism of their handling of the situation.

The 50-mile-long patch of water carrying benzene began entering Harbin, a city of 3.8 million people in China’s northeast, before dawn, the government said. It was expected to take 40 hours to pass. Shi Zhorgxin, director of the city’s water bureau, said: “After it passes ... we will have to make efforts to disinfect the water.”

He gave no details.