On Thursday at least 60 employees from Tiantong Company Group, an automaker in southwest China's Guizhou Province, were hospitalized suffering from food poisoning.

They were said to have had nausea, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea since around 3:00pm Thursday after having lunch in their canteen.

The Guiyang Third People's Hospital confirmed the employees were suffering from food poisoning but refused to provide further details on the exact number of employees admitted or their condition.

The municipal government has begun an investigation into the cause of the incident.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)