Huai'an police detained two drivers Thursday afternoon believed responsible for Tuesday's chlorine leak that killed 28 people and left another 350 hospitalized in east China's Jiangsu Province, police said Thursday.

Kang Zhaoyong and Wang Gang, drivers with the Jining Kedi Hazardous Chemicals Transportation Center of east China's Shandong Province, were driving a tanker truck carrying 29.44 tons of liquefied chlorine when it ran out of control with a flat tire and rammed into a cargo truck on the Huai'an section of the Beijing-Shanghai expressway. Both vehicles turned over. The cargo truck driver was killed on the spot.

The collision caused leakage of chlorine that spread all over nearby villages.

Kang, who was driving, reported the accident to expressway management authorities but did not say that the tanker was carrying hazardous chemicals. Kang and Wang fled to Nanjing by taxi at 10:00 PM.

Kang and Wang surrendered to Nanjing police Wednesday afternoon and were brought to Huai'an Wednesday night.

Though the tanker was supposed to carry no more than 15 tons, Kang said it was actually carrying 29.44 tons of chlorine.

Kang and Wang are also charged with delaying evacuation of local people since they did not report what kind of chemicals were in the tanker.

Seventeen of the injured are seriously poisoned and three are in a critical condition, according to local hospital authorities.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2005)