Five thousand tonnes of dangerous chemicals is adding to the mix of threats downstream from one of China's "quake lakes" in danger of bursting their banks, it was reported today.
The chemicals, including sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, were trapped downstream from the Tangjiashan lake and had to be moved to safe ground, the Beijing Newssaid, citing local environmental authorities.
China has evacuated more than 150,000 people living below the swollen Tangjiashan lake formed by this month's earthquake amid fears, exacerbated by heavy rain, it could burst and trigger massive flooding.
The chemicals, adding pollution to the threat of flooding, were stranded in different work sites downstream, the newspaper said.
The Tangjiashan lake was created when landslides blocked the Jianjiang river above the town and county of Beichuan in mountainous Sichuan province, near the epicentre of China's most destructive earthquake in decades.
It has been raining at the site from early Thursday, hampering efforts by more than 600 soldiers to open a giant sluice to discharge floodwaters, Xinhua news agency said. Helicopters shipping in equipment were unable to take off.
The official death toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake is already more than 68,000 and is certain to rise further, with nearly 20,000 listed as missing.
A massive relief effort, which involves providing food, tents and clothing for millions and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure, including the many destroyed schools, is expected to take up to three years.