Government officials 'punished' for water contamination

Following an incident which saw the tap water supply of Yancheng city contaminated with chemicals, seven government officials have been punished in China, it has emerged.

Last month, it was discovered that the drinking water of 1.5 million residents in the city was contaminated with the plastics and resins chemical phenol. As a result, thousands of citizens' water supplies were cut off for a short time.

According to a statement from city authorities, a plant operated by the Yancheng Biaoxin Chemical firm had been discharging wastewater into the city's Xinyanggang River.

As a result, five officials have been issued with warnings and two officers - the director and deputy head of the district's environment bureau - have been fired.

Despite attempts to improve air and water quality in China in recent years, the situation still remains critical, Xinhua News quotes environment protection minister Zhang Lijun as saying.