At least 61 people in east China's Anhui Province were hospitalized with severe skin inflammation after washing in a river that was contaminated by an unknown pollutant, local officials said on Wednesday.

An oily substance and dead fish became visible along a section of the Jindong River in Qimen County on Tuesday morning. Hours later, local residents who had washed their clothes in the river or collected the dead fish began to feel an itchy, burning sensation on their skin, said a statement from the county government.

Sixty-one people had gone to hospital by 9 PM on Tuesday, of which nine were admitted overnight. The remainder was discharged after treatment, it said.

The county government, on receiving a report on the incident, told the residents to go to hospital and promised to cover their medical expenses. Local residents are warned to stay away from the polluted water.

A work team was sent to the local markets to prevent possible sale of the dead fish and warned local people against eating them.

Samples of the contaminated water have been sent to Hefei, the provincial capital, to determine the cause of pollution.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2007)