Salvage workers have
succeeded in retrieving the cargo of extremely corrosive chemicals
from a half-sunken cargo vessel on the middle reaches of the
Yangtze River on Sunday morning.
More than 100 people
took 40 hours to drain the liquid caustic soda from the "Xianghan
Shouwei 0298" to two special vessels at Zhicheng Harbor in Yidu
city, Hubei Province, said Chen Lianghua, vice head of the rescue
headquarters.
"During the salvage
operation, no casualties, no leaks and no pollution were reported,"
he added.
The ship was to sail to
Hunan Province with 500 tons of liquid caustic soda, but was found
to be taking on water at around 7:00 a.m. on Friday after 130 tons
of the chemicals were loaded.
A rescue ship and a
salvage team arrived at the scene in the day to carry out repairs
to stop the sinking. On Saturday noon, four acid and alkaline
resistant pumps were used to drain the chemicals.
The Yidu municipal
bureau of environmental protection said on Sunday that the river
was unpolluted.
The ship is expected to
be hoisted on Monday and then the maritime bureau will investigate
the cause for the sinking.
Liquid caustic soda,
with a concentration of 32 percent, is listed as a dangerous
chemical.
(Xinhua News Agency
December 17, 2007)