Oil and chemical spills being cleaned after two ship accidents: state media

The accidents show the vulnerability of China's waterways, which are corridors for transporting industrial and chemical goods while also serving as a primary source of water for human use and agriculture.

Workers in Central Hubei province were trying to contain and retrieve 100 tons of hydrochloric acid carried by a ship that sunk in the Yangtze River after colliding with another vessel early on Sunday, the Xinhua news agency said.

The Yangtze is a busy shipping lane that also provides drinking water for tens of millions of people.

A test of the water around the accident scene showed the water's acidity was within the normal range, the report said, suggesting the acid had not leaked into the river.

Meanwhile, maritime workers in Zhoushan near the Yangshan port in Zhejiang province were cleaning an oil spill after an Iranian container ship, the Zoorik, ran aground on a rocky island in bad weather, Xinhua said.

The 37 people aboard the ship were rescued, but online photos showed a black slick spreading from the damaged vessel.

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