Officials in Lanzhou say bodies floating in river not affecting water quality
Between 2008 and 2012 police extracted 417 bodies from the Yellow River, which runs through the region, Lanzhou authorities told the China News Service on Thursday.
Lanzhou officials say the quality of local water is actually improving – despite more than 100 bodies being discovered in the Yellow River each year.
Lanzhou environmental bureau deputy chief Li Lei said officers had been closely monitoring the quality of drinking water and did not find it had been affected by bodies in the river.
“Based on our overall measuring results in past years, water quality not only remained normal, but in some cases has even improved,” Li said.
His remarks reflect growing public concern about the quality of the drinking water. This comes after recent online rumours that more than 10,000 bodies were floating in the Yellow River, which flows through the capital city of Gansu province.