A chlorine leak occurred early on Tuesday at a chemical plant in the city of Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province, leaving 88 people hospitalized.

A local official said the leak took place at 3:30 AM at the Greenapple Chemistry Co. Ltd.

An electrical accident caused a blackout, which resulted in a leak from a liquid chlorine pump.

Workers at the company and nearby residents were poisoned by the fumes, and 88 were still in hospital as of last night, none in critical condition.

The municipal fire brigade reportedly mobilized 14 fire engines and 80 firefighters, normalizing the air quality by 3:00 PM.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2005)