At least 60 employees from Tiantong Company Group, an automaker in southwest China's Guizhou Province, were hospitalized on Thursday with food poisoning.

They were said to have suffered nausea, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea since about 3:00?PM Thursday after having lunch in the company canteen.

The Guiyang Third People's Hospital said confirmed they were suffering from food poisoning, but refused to provide more details on either the exact number of employees admitted nor their current conditions.

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

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)