Nine women died and one is still critically ill after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning when they were bathing with a gas water heater in a rented apartment in Beijing, local public security authority said on Friday.

Six women were found dead in an apartment in Chaoyang district at around 9 AM on Thursday. Three died after treatment in hospital. Another one was critically ill, said a Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau official.

The women, aged 20 to 25, were employees of Beijing Zisonglin Real Estate Agent Co. Ltd. They moved into the rented room on Monday, the official said.

The apartment with two living rooms were found not to have a smoke discharging pipe, which was blamed for the accident, he said.

Most of the ten women were college graduates, said a company staff member without giving his name.

(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2008)