China apologises to Russia for toxic spill

Running water was restored in a major Chinese city yesterday, five days after a shutdown caused by a chemical spill, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Water supplies resumed in Harbin at 6 p.m., Xinhua said in a short dispatch. It did not give any more details.

Resumption of service occurred five hours earlier than scheduled. But it was not immediately clear whether it would continue or whether the entire city had its supply restored.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing informed Russian ambassador Sergei Razov about the pollution situation along the Songhua river in northeastern Heilongjiang province and expressed regret over any damage that may be done when the toxic slick enters Russia, Xinhua news agency said.

"On behalf of the Chinese government, I express regret over the possible harms to be done to the Russian people by the major environmental pollution accident," Li was quoted as telling Razov on Saturday.

"China fully understands and attaches great importance to the concerns of the Russian side."

The environmental disaster began when some 100 tons of benzene was dumped into the river after a huge explosion at a chemical plant on November 13 in Jilin province, nearly 1,000km up river from China's border with Russia.

The calamity has been widely seen as a reflection of China's dismal environmental situation, which has been largely ignored during 25 years of fast-paced economic growth.