More people have been evacuated, up to 15,000 at last count,
following the gas well leak in southwest China's
Chongqing Municipality on Saturday.
Local officials are trying to cope with the crisis but appear to
be in dire need of supplies for evacuees.
With only 790 quilts in stock, the county government has
launched fund-raisers to buy more supplies. So far, 8,100 articles
of clothing and 16,000 yuan (about US$1,973) have been raised,
according to Du Lianjian, chief of the Kaixian County Civil Affairs
Bureau.
He said that 9,010 residents who live within a one-km radius of
the leaking well have been evacuated and are being housed in 12
specially built shelters.
Five thousand other residents have found alternative
accommodation with relatives and friends.
The Luojia No. 2 Gas Well, with a depth of some 3,400 meters and
owned by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), sprang a
leak at about 7?AM Saturday during final tests which were
being conducted to bring the newly completed well into
production.
Gas field workers noticed that a section of a local river that
is just a kilometer away from the well had started to bubble,
according to Sichuan Provincial Petroleum Administration.
The local government has warned people on the lower reaches of
the river not to drink the water. Gas workers continue to monitor
the situation.
As a safety precaution, CNPC decided to ignite the well to avoid
the possibility of a build-up of pressure and an explosion.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2006)