Aqueous alkali spill causes no pollution to Yangtze tributary

WUHAN, Dec.14 (Xinhuanet) -- As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the aqueous alkali spill in Hanjiang River, the main tributary of the Yangtze River, has caused no pollution to the water, the environment watchdog of central China's Hubei province reported.

At around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a truck carrying 20 tons of aqueous alkali overturned for overloading and fell into the river when it was crossing the the Hanjiang River by ferry in Hanchuan city, causing the spill. The driver escaped by breaking the windowof the sunken truck.

Shortly after the accident, the local environment departments started to monitor the water quality in Hanjiang's lower reaches every hour. In the meantime, a rescue team was dispatched to salvage the truck and prevent pollution.

Wuhan, capital of central China' Hubei province not far from the accident site, is keeping alert against any possible changes to the water quality.

The aqueous alkali leakage will affect water quality within ranges of 4 kilometers, which will be diluted before it flows downstream to Wuhan, said Zhang Minggang, director of the environment bureau of Xiantao City,