Even as the Gulf Oil Disaster attracted so much attention there was another oil spill in China. The Dalian oil spill began in mid-July and, while it was said to be stopped a few days later, devastated the coastline and exposed China's inability to deal with the clean up (obviously the U.S. has no great claim to superiority in that regard). Compared to the Gulf Oil disaster Dalian was small and claimed one life. However, that death is now revealed in a series of chilling photographs.

Freelance photographer Jiang He (who doesn't use his real name presumably because of press prohibitions on such disturbing imagery), recorded the final minutes of firefighter Zhang Liang's life. Zhang Liang and a fellow cleanup worker are absurdly trying to get a water pump clear that is floating in a sea of thick crude.

They are not wearing any kind of safety gear, no environmental protection at all. And that humans are doing this instead of robots or without some machine-assistance in itself is noteworthy. Horribly, for unknown reasons, Zhang Liang and his partner get into trouble and begin to get sucked into the oil slick. A heroic soldier dives in to try and drag them out but either through exhaustion or by the suction of the chemical soup is prevented from helping both. The final image of Zhang Liang is of his outstretched hand before disappearing underneath the surface.

Needless to say, the images are disturbing.

I notice that one of the first comments castigates the photographer for not helping but it is not clear how any or all of the bystanders could help. People are not supposed to be swimming in oil. As you can see, the soldier and the surviving cleanup worker barely escape with their own lives.

Thanks: Michael Kalus. Photos from Chinasmack.com.