A stretch of potentially lethal polluted river water headed towards one of China's biggest cities on Thursday after an explosion at a petrochemical plant, November 24 2005. (Xinhua)

  BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Yu Li, head of the Jilin branch of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), was removed from his post as he was allegedly held responsible for a toxic spill in Songhua River in northeast China in the wake of the explosion of a chemical plant.

    According to a report posted on the Web site of oilnews.com.cn on Monday, Yu was asked to stop work and is interrogated by a joint accident investigation team formed by the State Council, the country's highest governing body, and Jilin provincial government.

    Shen Diancheng, former general manager of the Liaoyang chemical company, has been named to replace him.

    Meanwhile, two other officials, who held direct responsibility for the explosion of the plant on Nov. 13, which killed five, left one missing and injured 60 others, were also dismissed, the report said.

    Despite his removal, Yu Li was also credited with minimizing injuries and helping investigators.

    However, the report did not say whether he would face criminal charges.

    The explosion caused the spill of benzene, a poisonous substance, into the Songhua River, forcing Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, to cut off water supply to 3.8 million citizens for four days, something never experienced by a large city.

    It also caused great concerns in neighboring Russia, which borders the river, due to the toxic pollution.

    Heilongjiang has intensified monitoring of water quality along the Songhua River as the 150-km pollution spill belt flows further downstream toward Jiamusi, the second largest city in the river's lower reaches.

    The front of the slick is expected to reach Jiamusi, with a population of more than 2 million, on Tuesday. Enditem