A pipeline owned by China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) resumed operation Monday afternoon after it leaked 240 tonnes of oil in east China's Shandong Province.

The company immediately shut down the cracked pipeline and blocked the leakage site after the leakage was spotted, said a spokesman with Sinopec.

It recovered 220 tonnes of oil, which had leaked to nearby farmland and roads, the spokesman said.

The leakage, which was discovered at 6:12 p.m. Sunday, occurred at a section of the Dongying-Huangdao pipeline near Jiulong Township in Jiaozhou City.

"The influence of the leakage on the farmland could be controlled within the minimum level," he said.

Testing results from the local environmental protection authorities showed the leakage didn't contaminate the nearby water sources.

An initial investigation showed the pipeline crack was caused by a digger driver who unauthorizedly excavated the earth above the pipeline to bury the waste at a construction site in Jiulong Township.

Police are searching for the driver, who fled after the accident.

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