Oil slick controlled after deadly pipeline blast

The oil slick from Friday's deadly pipeline blast in east China's coastal Qingdao city, Shandong province, has been controlled, the provincial maritime safety administration said on Monday.

According to the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration, as of Saturday night, the administration had dispatched 24 oil-clearing vessels, 10 fishing boats, one rescue vessel, six patrolling vessels and one helicopter to clean up spills that had contaminated 3,000 square meters of sea water.

On Saturday, barricades running 3,000 meters long, 80 tons of dispersant, and 20 tons of oil absorbent felt were used, collecting 80 tons of oil-water mixture.

The following day, another 18 oil-clearing vessels and 830 people were dispatched, and about 100 tons of oil-water mixture together with the oil absorbent felt were collected. The contaminated area has shrunken to 3 to 5 square meters, according to the administration.

At 3 a.m. on Friday, crude oil began leaking from an underground pipeline operated by Sinopec in Huangdao District of Qingdao.

The spill then flowed into the city's rainwater pipe network, which empties into Jiaozhou Bay. Explosions ripped through residential and commercial roads in Huangdao at around 10:30 a.m. on Friday when workers were clearing the spill.

As of Monday, the blasts had taken 55 lives, left nine people missing, and landed another 145 in hospital.

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