BEIJING, December 24 (RIA Novosti) - A gas leak in a blast furnace at a steel plant in northern China has left at least 17 workers dead and 27 injured, the Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday.
The leak occurred at about 09:00 a.m. (01:00 GMT) in the Ganglu Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. in Zunhua City, about 150 km east of Beijing, a municipal government spokesman said.
Some 44 people were working near the blast furnace at the time of the gas leak. Two workers were killed instantly and fifteen others died later in hospital.
The workers are believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
