Thirty-four villagers in south China's Guangdong Province were
hospitalized on Sunday after developing symptoms of poisoning that
may have been caused by industrial river pollution, the local
government said.
A source said that those affected, from Lingxia
Village of Yingde City's Hengshitang Township, suffered abdominal
pains and vomiting after drinking water from a local river.
They were immediately sent to local hospitals, and
where seven of them remained as of noon yesterday.
Preliminary investigations found that the river had
been polluted by wastewater discharged from mineral plants on its
upper reaches.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2005)