China gas leak triggers evacuation of thousands

BEIJING, Jan 22 (Reuters) China has evacuated nearly 3,500 people from an area around a remote, abandoned gas well in the southwestern town of Chongqing following a leak, but no casualties have been reported, Xinhua news agency said today.

A gas leak in Chongqing three years ago killed 198 people and put more than 9,000 people in hospital.

The gas, a mixture of sulphurated hydrogen and methane, started leaking yesterday evening at the well in the district of Shuangqiao, prompting authorities to move everyone within a radius of one km (half a mile) to safety.

''An emergency task force was set up to cap the leak and work was continuing today morning,'' Xinhua said.

In the December 2003 disaster, many of the victims were killed by the fumes in their sleep.

''The poisonous gas hovering in the air made an area of 25 square km a death zone,'' the China Daily said at the time.

Last month, a gas leak 500 km northeast of the Sichuan capital of Chengdu lasted six days and led to the evacuation of 12,000 people.

Reuters BDP DB1034