Beijing, Nov 07: An accidental chlorine leak last evening left 48 people hospitalised in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, local officials confirmed today. An abandoned chlorine container at the Dongfeng Paper Mill in Qiaokou district was found leaking last evening and 48 people were poisoned by the gas, Xinhua news agency reported.
The container was made secure by fire-fighters, who also sprayed water to dilute the gas in the air.
All the 48 people are out of danger, the officials said, adding that the cause of the accident is under investigation.
On Monday, at least one person was killed and 71 others were taken ill after a steel cylinder storing toxic liquid chlorine exploded in Pingyang county in east China's Zhejiang province.
That accident was caused when the steel cylinder containing a tonne of liquid chlorine suddenly blew up in Liandong village of Aojiang town, Wenzhou city, where the illegal use of chemicals to washout colours from acrylic fibres in household workshops is common.
Bureau Report