Beijing, Aug 10: China today deployed soldiers and policemen to strengthen local efforts to clean up a major oil spill on the Huangpu River in Shanghai, media reports said today. The latest emergency plan came even as locals struggled to clean up a spill involving several kilometres of the river that flows through China's gleaming metropolis.

According to the plan, the polluted stretch will be divided into 16 sections, and the cleaning teams will use oil-absorbing cotton to mop up the oil.

The operation is anticipated to last until August 12 before the next major high tide. An unidentified small boat hit a cargo ship moored in the Huangpu on August 5, damaging the ship's cabin and causing 85 tonnes of fuel to spill onto the river. A total of 17 vessels have been dispatched to major high tide. About 20 tonnes of oil-bearing water has been collected and the oil spill has been Kephip's cabin and causing 85 tonnes of fuel to spill onto the river.

A total of 17 vessels have been dispatched to the site of the oil spill. About 20 tonnes of oil-bearing water has been collected and the oil spill has been kept to a restricted area.
But some of the spilled oil has carried to the riverside, and several plots of wetland at the upper reaches of the river have already been polluted.

Bureau Report