A chlorine leak from a chemical plant has put 62 villagers in hospital in east China's Anhui Province as of Friday.

Liquid chlorine leaked from a pipeline at Tongling Chemical Co., Ltd. of the Guangxin Group, in Tongling City, on Thursday morning and quickly spread to an adjacent village.

Workers had repaired the pipeline an hour later.

Some of those who inhaled the fumes suffered headaches and vomiting, but doctors described them all as stable.

Chlorine may cause coughing and breathing difficulties, serious poisoning may lead to a coma and suffocation.

Operations at the chemical plant specializing in the research and production of pesticides and chemical products, most of which are exported to European and Southeast Asian markets, have been suspended while the cause of the accident is investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)