Eighteen workers were ill after inhaling chlorine in a Japanese-funded electronics company in central China's Hubei Province, sources with the local work safety administration said on Monday.

The accident happened at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday at the Meiko Electronics Company at the economic and technological district in Wuhan, capital of Hubei.

Workers maintaining a production line mistakenly mixed two chemicals and produced poisonous chlorine gas, an official with the administration said.

Several hundred people who were working in the plant were evacuated after the accident. Some reported coughing, nausea and breath difficulties, the official said.

A total of 18 were sent to hospital late night on Sunday, and most were discharged after brief treatment. Four remain hospitalized by Monday noon but their conditions are stable, he said.

The company is funded by Japan-based Meiko Electronics Co. Ltd to produce printed circuit boards. Investigations into the accident are underway.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2008)