Three people have died and 17 others been hospitalized after being poisoned by unidentified plastic waste in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Three children were hospitalized Monday night, bringing the number of the poisoned by unidentified plastic waste to 20, local hospital confirmed.

The three children had exposure to the waster earlier, according to an unnamed doctor with Zhejiang No. 1 Hospital. He said there were altogether seven children among the sickened.

Workers in the reclamation depot fell sick on Sunday as they were loading a batch of plastic waste in Dongyang City, said an unnamed official with the Dongyang government.

He said the dead were aged between 39 and 52.

Lin Xianghong, one of the sickened in the hospital, said that Li bought the waste from a Dongyang chemical plant. Lin bought them from Li and intended to process them into plastic granules before selling them.

Lin said workers in the reclamation depot developed symptoms of sweating, fever and yellowish skin before turning to the local hospital.

The local government is working to identify the toxic waste.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2009)