China confirms "major" pollution of river
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-11-23 20:16

HOSPITALS ON STANDBY

The Songhua runs into Russia several hundred kilometers beyond Harbin.

"All containers are being used to store water, including the bathtub. It will be okay for four days, but not longer than that."

Fifteen hospitals were on standby to take in contamination victims, Xinhua news agency said.

A notice on the city government Web site saying supplies would resume in four days has been superseded by another saying a resumption date would be announced later.

"The new notice does not necessarily mean an extension," a Harbin government spokesman told Reuters. "But we will make a decision after four days according to the water quality at that time.

"There is sufficient water. Residents have all stored a lot and we have been rushing in water from other places. We also have safe underground water."

Prices of bottled water soared in recent days and domestic media said shops had been ordered to restore prices to normal to prevent panic buying.

U.S. beer-making giant Anheuser-Busch, which runs a brewery in Harbin, said it had not been affected because it uses well water.

Harbin, a frontier town founded in the late 19th century, is famed for its old Russian- and European-style architecture. Each January it attracts crowds of tourists for a spectacular ice sculpture display.

"They did not have enough preparation, otherwise they would not have needed to shut down the water completely," said Fu Tao, director of the Water Policy Research Center at Beijing's Tsinghua University.

"But Harbin has shown a sense of responsibility by taking the current strong measures. It would be worse if a city stopped water supply without warning or silently kept providing polluted water."