Water pollution has not been detected after a fire that engulfed four river vessels carrying the toxic chemical methanol in central China's Wuhan city, a local government official said yesterday.
One sailor was injured in the fire, which occurred on Sunday at the Chenjiadun pier on Wuhan's Hanjiang River, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Measures were being taken to prevent methanol seeping into the river, which provides drinking water to some of Wuhan's 5 million people, the agency said.
It did not give details of the measures.
The fire broke out on a ship owned by a transport company from Jiangxi Province, and quickly spread to three other vessels owned by the same company and also carrying methanol, Xinhua said.
The company was not named in the report.
The three ships were carrying 576 tonnes of the chemical, it said. One boat carrying 49 tonnes sank, Xinhua said, prompting fears that drinking water could become polluted.
An official with Wuhan city government said the river was being monitored for signs of methanol contamination and that by midday yesterday no pollution had been detected.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, said the man, who would only give his surname, Zhang.
More than 20 fire engines were dispatched to fight the blaze, which was put out within eight hours, Xinhua said.
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