The blowout Dec. 23 at a gas field in Gaoqiao, a town in Kaixian county near the city of Chongqing, released a cloud of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide, state media reported.

When teams of disaster workers entered the area Dec. 25, they found villages full of dead, the agency said. As the search continued, the toll continued to rise. By Dec. 26, 191 people were confirmed dead but teams of workers were still canvassing the area, Xinhua said.

More than 290 people have been hospitalized -- most of them children, Xinhua said. Authorities have evacuated 41,000 people who live within 5 km of the gas field.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 3, 2004
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