A house built on top of an abandoned cyanide pool collapsed on Thursday in central China's Henan Province, killing nine people and hospitalizing seven, the local government said on Friday.

Villagers from Yangping township in the city of Lingbao gathered in the house in Qiaoying village at around 9:00 AM on Thursday to discuss funeral arrangements for a young man who was found dead there at daybreak, a spokesman with the Lingbao city government told Xinhua.

The spokesman said the young man, named Xiao Qing, had quarreled with his parents on Wednesday and had run away from home to spend the night alone in the uninhabited house.

Police suspected he had been poisoned by the cyanide.

As the crowd flocked in at the invitation of Xiao Qing's parents, the floor of the house, made of a single wooden board over the pond, gave way and 16 people fell into the two-meter deep chemical pool. The house itself also collapsed.

Seven people were saved in time and were sent to two local hospitals. The other nine died from poisoning or injuries.

The local public security department has launched an investigation.

The cyanide pond belonged to a local family surnamed Kou.

Cyanide is the main chemical used to extract gold from ore. The area is a significant gold production base.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2007)