Five government officials from Hechi City in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have been fired after 450 villagers were poisoned by drinking contaminated water.

Dismissed were: Wei Changze, director of Hechi Environmental Protection Bureau, Gan Hongyuan, deputy head of Jinjiang District, Zhao Shizhao, an inspector with the Environmental Protection Bureau, Yu Xian'an, director of the bureau's Jinjiang District branch and Wei Zhi, head of Dongjiang Town, reported China News Service.

They were all accused of poor management and surveillance after 450 people were poisoned by drinking water containing arsenic.

Residents from two villages began showing symptoms like swelling in the face and eyes, vomiting and blurred vision Oct. 3.

Doctors said all patients are in stable condition and are recovering.

Environmental testing showed the villages' water source was polluted by industrial waste discharged from Jinhai Metallurgy Chemical, a branch of the state-owned Liuzhou China Tin Co. Ltd. based in Guangxi's Liuzhou City.

The Hechi government said the plant illegally discharged waste and got away with it because of the Environmental Protection Bureau's poor surveillance.

The city government suspended operation at the plant and ordered the company to pay for all the victims hospital bills.

(Xinhua News Agency October 14, 2008)