Harbin faces river pollution

Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province, temporarily restored water supplies on Wednesday to allow residents to stock up as an 80-kilometer stretch of heavily polluted water makes its way towards the city, Reuters reported. China said an explosion at a petrochemical plant had caused "major pollution" of the Songhua River, from which Harbin draws its drinking water. Meanwhile, Russia's environmental protection agency expressed concern that the pollution could affect drinking water supplies in its Khabarovsk region, which the Songhua enters several hundred kilometres downstream from Harbin.