More people have been evacuated, up to 15,000 at last count, following the gas well leak in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Saturday.

Local officials are trying to cope with the crisis but appear to be in dire need of supplies for evacuees.

With only 790 quilts in stock, the county government has launched fund-raisers to buy more supplies. So far, 8,100 articles of clothing and 16,000 yuan (about US$1,973) have been raised, according to Du Lianjian, chief of the Kaixian County Civil Affairs Bureau.

He said that 9,010 residents who live within a one-km radius of the leaking well have been evacuated and are being housed in 12 specially built shelters.

Five thousand other residents have found alternative accommodation with relatives and friends.

The Luojia No. 2 Gas Well, with a depth of some 3,400 meters and owned by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), sprang a leak at about 7 AM Saturday during final tests which were being conducted to bring the newly completed well into production.

Gas field workers noticed that a section of a local river that is just a kilometer away from the well had started to bubble, according to Sichuan Provincial Petroleum Administration.

The local government has warned people on the lower reaches of the river not to drink the water. Gas workers continue to monitor the situation.

As a safety precaution, CNPC decided to ignite the well to avoid the possibility of a build-up of pressure and an explosion.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2006)