No excessive pollutants have been found in the diesel oil tank fire that ignited around 10 a.m. in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast Liaoning Province, according to municipal authorities.

Oil tank catches fire in northeast China

Emergent environmental measures were taken, and all waste water was discharged into a special lagoon to prevent pollution to the sea, government officials said.

Statistics from the city's environmental monitoring agency indicate that no pollutants have been found excessive of the national standard.

A crew of 296 firefighters battled the blaze for three hours before they were able to extinguish it.

A blast in the pipeline linking two oil tanks triggered the fire at a refinery owned by PetroChina, one of the country's leading oil producers.

There were no casualties.

The potential existed for a worse fire due to its close proximity to tanks of liquefied petroleum gas, aviation gasoline and other oil tanks.

Firefighters remain on the scene to guard against any further hazard.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.