Chinese company 'concealed' gravity of chemical spill, 'forged evidence'

The company responsible for a chemical spill that left dozens ill in east China "deliberately concealed" the extent of the leak, which was 10 times worse than reported, authorities said.

The spill in Fujian province happened in the early hours of November 4 when a tube transferring the chemicals from a wharf to a tanker broke, spilling 69.1 tonnes of C9 aromatics into the sea.

Fujian Donggang Petrochemical Company, the firm responsible for the incident, had previously reported just 6.97 tonnes. "From the start, Donggang Petrochemical deliberately concealed, maliciously colluded, and forged evidence," said a statement released by the local