More than 7,000 people have been evacuated as a precaution after an incident on Wednesday night at a chemical warehouse in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

 

At around 7:00 PM on Wednesday night, chemicals leaked and self-ignited at a warehouse at Daguan Road in Tianhe District of Guangzhou. The fire was put out at about midnight, with 49 people hospitalized for medical observation. There was no immediate report of any casualties.

 

The evacuees included 6,000 college students, local government sources confirmed on Thursday.

 

Local environmental protection department is monitoring local air quality, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2006)