BEIJING, May 14 (RIA Novosti) - More than 160 people have been hospitalized in northeast China after apparently being poisoned by an unidentified gas from a chemical plant, Xinhua said on Thursday.
Workers from the Jilin Chemical Fiber Group in Jilin City, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, started feeling sick in late April. Local authorities said more than 1,000 of them sought medical attention and 160 were hospitalized.
The victims believe the gas leaked from the neighboring Jilin Kangnaier Chemical Industry Company Ltd plant. The government has not confirmed the reports, but has ordered the company to stop work, the news agency said.
Environmental checks are being conducted and an investigation is underway. The air in the vicinity of the factory was not found to be contaminated, Xinhua cited a local environmental official as saying.
