A tank truck loaded with poisonous benzene turned over early Wednesday morning in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and part of the toxic liquid spilled into the nearby rivers, said sources from the local government.

No people were reported affected by the spill so far, but the driver was seriously wounded in the accident, the sources said.

The accident happened at 1:00 am Wednesday at a narrow road in the Qingwan township of Beiliu City when the truck was on its way to Maoming City in the neighboring Guangdong Province.

The truck was loaded with 40 tons of crude benzene, a blend of liquid harmful to human health, and probably 10 tons were washed into the rivers by the rain, said Chen Haiting, deputy secretary of the Maoming government, who headed the relief operation of the accident.

As of 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, the rest of the chemicals had been transferred to another truck but traffic was still slow.

The governments of the nearby areas immediately evacuated some 2,000 local residents and warned people not to take water from the rivers any more. The liquid spilled into the Lingjiang River and affected the Luojiang and Jianjiang rivers in the lower reaches in Guangdong, said Chen.

Environmental administrations were required to get samples from the rivers and carry out a 24-hour monitoring on the rivers, said Chen.

The latest results of the samples indicate the rivers in Maoming City were seriously polluted by benzene, said Ke Liping, chief of the environmental monitor station in the city.

The weather forecast predicted continuous rainy days in the areas, which would somewhat help dilute the toxin, said Ke.

Local residents and water supply companies stopped taking water from rivers and people in some areas are using water from wells.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2004)