China oil disaster (22 images)

China and environmental observers said cleanup efforts on the country's largest reported oil spill were progressing Thursday, but the environmental and economic damage was clear.

The cleanup - marred by the drowning of a worker this week, his body coated in crude - continued over a 165 square mile (430 square kilometer) stretch of the Yellow Sea off the northeastern city of Dalian, one of China's major ports and strategic oil reserve sites. READ THE LATEST STORY

Firefighters walk near flames towering from a pipeline explosion at a Chinese port in Dalian in northern China's Liaoning province on Saturday, July 17, 2010. The oil pipeline at the busy Chinese port exploded, causing a massive fire that burned for 15 hours before being put out Saturday. (AP Photo)

Firefighters try to contain the flames from a pipeline explosion at a Chinese port in Dalian in northern China's Liaoning province on Saturday, July 17, 2010. (AP Photo)

In this Friday July 16, 2010 photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, firefighters arrive at the oil pipeline blast site in Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Cai Yongjun)

This Saturday July 17, 2010 aerial photo released by China's Xinhua news agency shows leaked oil floating off the coast of Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Tian Jingyue)

In this photo taken Sunday, July 18, 2010, Chinese workers scoop up oil from a spill in the sea near Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province. Efforts were under way to contain and clean up a large oil slick after pipeline explosions at a northeastern Chinese port sent greasy black plumes into the ocean, state media reported Sunday. (AP Photo)

This photo released by Greenpeace shows oil washing ashore near the port of Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Crude oil started pouring into the Yellow Sea off a busy northeastern port after a pipeline exploded late last week, sparking a massive 15-hour fire. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

In this photo released by Greenpeace, a firefighter rushes to aid his colleagues who ran into trouble amid thick oil while attempting to fix an underwater pump in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

In this photo released by Greenpeace, a firefighter rushes to aid his colleagues who ran into trouble amid thick oil while attempting to fix an underwater pump in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

In this photo released by Greenpeace, a firefighter who was submerged in thick oil during an attempt to fix an underwater pump is brought ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

In this photo released by Greenpeace, the oil covered hand of a firefighter who was overwhelmed by the thick oil spill while attempting to fix an underwater pump is seen after he is pulled ashore by his colleagues in Dalian, China on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Jiang He, Greenpeace)

In this Tuesday, July 20, 2010 photo, firemen work on a burned oil storage facility in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, released by Greenpeace, a villager displays his hand coated in crude oil during cleanup efforts almost a week after a pipeline, owned by China Nation Petroleum Corp., exploded in Nanhaitun, Weitang Bay, China. China National Petroleum Corp. said Thursday the vital pipeline has resumed operations after an explosion caused the country's largest reported oil spill. Cleanup efforts, marred by the drowning death of a worker, continued over the 165 square mile (430 square kilometer) stretch of water blanketed in thick, dark oil Thursday. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, released by Greenpeace, mollusks are seen coated in crude oil, at the Guotai Water Products Farm, about 1 kilometer (.62 miles) away from the site of an oil spill, at Xingang Port in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)

In this Wednesday, July 21, 2010 photo, a cleanup worker moves a bag on the beach polluted by crude oil. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken Wednesday, July 21, 2010, workers move a bag on the beach polluted by crude oil after a pipeline explosion in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo)

In this photo taken Wednesday, July 21, 2010 and released by Greenpeace on July 22, 2010, an employee scoops up dead snails at the Guotai Water Products Farm, about one kilometer (.62 miles) away from the site of the oil spill at Xingang Port, Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning province. (AP Photo/Greenpeace, Jiang He)