Report: Algae threatens Olympic sailing

LONDON, June 27 (UPI) -- The sailing venue for the Beijing Olympic Games is threatened of being clogged by an algae outbreak, Chinese officials admitted.

The report by The Telegraph in London said that Qingdao Bay has been hit by the worst algae blight in living memory. The environmental problem has forced officials to order an emergency cleanup of threatened regatta routes.

"It's a climatic disaster and we can only hope the heavens will be kind to us in August," Wang Haitao, Beijing's Olympics spokesman told The Telegraph. "We're doing all we can with our arms full and by the boatload. All you can see is fishing boats along the coast."

Spinach-sized clumps of algae have prevented row boats to cross the bay located on the western edge of the polluted Yellow Sea.

About 1,000 fishing boats are being used to scoop up the algae and the Qingdao Weather Bureau says warmer waters, increased rainfall and high levels of nutrients in the ocean brought about the algae explosion along vast stretches of the 500-mile coastline.