Barricades, boats deployed in pipeline spill

QINGDAO - Several barricades and tons of dispersant have been deployed to clean up oil from the pipeline spill that caused a deadly blast on Friday in the East China port city of Qingdao, maritime authorities said on Saturday.

The Qingdao Maritime Safety Administration said barricades running 3,000 meters long and 10 tons of dispersant are being used to clean up spills that have contaminated 3,000 square meters of sea water.

The administration has also dispatched 22 oil-clearing vessels, 10 fishing boats and six patrolling vessels to help clean up crude oil that spilled into the sea.

The oil leaked for nearly 15 minutes from a pipeline owned by China's largest oil refiner, Sinopec, on Friday morning, and seeped into the municipal rainwater pipe network before spilling into the Jiaozhou Bay.

The spill caused a fire and blast in Qingdao's Huangdao District at 10:30 am on Friday, killing at least 47 people.

Sinopec's board chairman, Fu Chengyu, apologized for the accident on Saturday and vowed rescue efforts and an investigation into the cause of the spill.