Twelve people were killed and two others sickened in an outdoor
tent gas poisoning which occurred in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region early Wednesday.
The accident took place inside a tent built in the open air
inside Xiamale forest farm, Bachu County. The victims were workers
who had been there digging licorice root, a medicinal herb used in
traditional Chinese medicine for curing ailment including infection
of upper respiratory tract, mucous expectoration and gastric
disorders, said sources from the Kashi Prefectural Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC).
The sickened are still receiving medical treatment at a local
hospital.
Further investigation into the accident is under way.
Bachu, more than 1,200 kilometers away from Urumqi, the regional
capital, is situated at the northwestern rim of the Tarim
Basin.
(Xinhua News Agency, December 6, 2007)