China’s leaders sent a team to investigate a chemical plant accident that poisoned a major river, saying officials responsible will be punished, as the 3.8 million residents of this northeastern city endured a fourth frigid day without running water Saturday.
Hundreds of villagers were being evacuated near Harbin on the Songhua River as toxic benzene flowed past, while a Russian city downstream braced for its arrival. In China’s southwest, about 6,000 people reportedly were evacuated following a second chemical plant explosion, raising fears of a new poisoning disaster.