An Iranian newspaper says at least 130 people, most of them students, have been hospitalised after inhaling a toxic gas in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
Today's report by Haft-e Sobh quotes Zahedan provincial Gov Abbas Ali Arjmandi as saying the gas was released after a worker from a private company dumped unspecified amounts of expired pesticides into a wastewater canal on Sunday morning.
Arjmandi says most of the students afflicted were from a nearby school. He also says the residents in the area reported dizziness and nausea.
The governor ruled out sabotage and said the worker acted out of ignorance. He says the worker has been arrested and the factory storage unit sealed.
Arjmandi did not identify the toxic gas in question or provide further details.
