Two workers were killed by a compressed air bottle yesterday at a waste recycling warehouse in Shanghai, local police said.

The accident occurred at about 7:50am at the Guochang facility in Baoshan District.

Witnesses said the workers were trying to dismantle the compressed air bottle, which wasn't quite empty, and the air forced out the iron bottle after the valve was loosened. The bottle hit the workers, one dying on site and the other in hospital.

(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2009)