At least 20 people fell sick, including five with severe symptoms, today by an ammonia leak at a chemical plant in China's central Henan Province, the latest industrial accident in the country.
The leak happened at Henan Zhonghong Coal Chemical Company where 300 kg of synthesised ammonia leaked for 15 minutes from a cracked pipe.
The poisoned villagers have been sent to hospitals, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The government said they detected no ammonia when monitoring air quality near the site this morning.
Local authorities said the plant was able to halt the leak and no ammonia was detected in the air about three hours after the rupture.
A number of incidents of workplace safety hazards have occurred in China.
In August in China's worst industrial accident, a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals caught fire and exploded in the northern port city of Tianjin, killing 165 and leaving eight missing.
In 2013, a gas line ruptured in the eastern port city of Qingdao, triggering blasts that killed 62 people.
