Police in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have arrested another three people in connection for the deadly gas blowout on Dec. 23.

Wu Hua, deputy manager of the Chuandong (east Sichuan) Drilling Company, Wu Bin, head of the company's No. 12 oil drilling team, and Xiao Xiansu, a worker at the No. 16 natural gas well, were arrested Thursday by officers investigating the disaster.

Last week, Wang Jiandong, an engineer from the drilling research institute of the Sichuan Oil Administration and director in charge of the oil well in Gaoqiao town, Kaixian county, and two other people were arrested.

The tragedy occurred when the well at the Chuandongbei gas field blew out, gushing out a large amount of toxic sulfurated hydrogen which killed 243 people.

A team from the local procuratorate has been looking into the disaster since Jan. 2 after the State Council declared it an accident because of negligence and dereliction of duty.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2004)