China Oil Spill: Man Rescued After Nearly Drowning in Slick

ABC News' Beth Loyd reports: Greenpeace has captured dramatic photos of an oil worker being rescued Tuesday after trying to fix an underwater oil pump off the coast of Dalian, China. The oil worker became submerged in the slick.  The photos show the men up to their chins in oil, fear on their faces, before firefighters jump in and pull them to safety, their bodies covered in oil.  Greenpeace was there trying to assess the oil spill — the worst China has ever seen — while the Chinese rushed to prevent the oil slick from moving into international waters. 
 
Crude oil began spilling into the Yellow Sea last week when a pipeline exploded and started a fire that raged for 15 hours.  The spill has spread across 70 square miles.  The cause of the explosion is still being investigated.  Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported Tuesday that a 25-year-old firefighter drowned when a large wave knocked him into the sea during the cleanup.  Officials also told Xinhua that they don’t know how much oil has spilled, but that they were trying to have it cleaned up in five days.  Other officials have said that goal is impossible to meet.  Dalian was once named China’s most liveable city but today the beaches are closed as workers continue to clean up the mess.  Environmental activists said it was too soon to tell what impact the oil spill would have on marine life.