Altogether 90 people in south China’s Zhanjiang City suffered different degrees of injuries and burns for inhaling harmful gas caused by a leakage of sulfuric acid over the weekend, sources in Guangzhou said Monday.

At noon of May 26, cylinders containing sulfuric acid, which belong to a local chemical company, leaked out sulfuric acid, producing heavy smoke and harmful gas after the acid met with rainwater.

The victims, most of them local residents now receiving medical treatment in three local hospitals, are suffering from burned throat, disability with the four limbs, chest distress and difficulty in breathing, among others, said doctors.

The condition of most of the victims is improving, with nine of them still in critical conditions, doctors said.

A special medical team consisting of experts from the Beijing-based General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army, who reached Zhanjiang Sunday, are working with local doctors. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua 05/28/2001)