Emergency workers have recovered nearly 6,400 chemical barrels, and located another 684, stuck on flood-ravaged land along a major river in northeast China. Local authorities said Sunday night, that the barrels were intercepted within the borders of Jilin Province.

After four days of efforts, the retrieval work is nearly complete. Workers are now searching for the final 67 chemical barrels.

Zhu Yanfeng, Jilin Province Deputy Governor, said, "As of now, none of the barrels has flowed out of Jilin Province. We keep monitoring the water quality in line with relevant environmental standards and, so far, no contamination has been detected in the Songhua River."

More than 7,000 chemical barrels were swept into the Songhua River after floods destroyed two warehouses in Jilin Province on Wednesday. The incident raised fears of water contamination in the river, a major source of drinking water for millions of residents in the area.

More than 3,600 containers were filled with colorless and highly explosive chemicals, while close to 35-hundred were empty.

The barrels were intercepted after more than 12,000 soldiers, armed police officers, emergency workers, and local residents fanned out along the river's 235-kilometer waterway.

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