Suspected gas poisoning kills 15 at China steel plants

Jan 5, 2010, 4:20 GMT

Beijing - Suspected gas poisoning accidents killed 15 people at two steel plants in northern China, the government said Tuesday, highlighting the nation's concerns over work safety.

Eight steel workers died from suspected gas poisoning in the north-eastern city of Dalian on Monday as they were repairing electrical equipment in a cramped, poorly ventilated underground workshop, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The eight workers fainted on Monday afternoon in the pump workshop at the Dalian Special Steel Company's No 1 Steel Plant, the agency quoted Yang Jikui, head of the city's safety bureau, as saying.

The workers were pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital, where initial tests showed signs of high levels of carbon monoxide and other unidentified gases in their blood, but no signs of electrocution, Yang said.

The workshop had a floor space of only about 12 square metres and had been closed for a long period, he said.

Seven more workers died on Monday when a gas pipeline leaked as they were assembling a furnace at the Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Company in the northern city of Wu'an, Hebei province.

A total of 16 workers suffered poisoning from the unidentified gas, and the nine survivors were in stable condition in hospital, the agency quoted Li Shuming, head of the city government, as saying.

The pipeline was built by a contractor and it was not immediately clear which company employed the poisoned workers, Li said.