3 dead in E China gas leak

Three people have been confirmed dead, and another three seriously injured, following a gas leak accident that occurred around noon on Thursday at a steel plant in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province, the plant said. The other seven men are in stable conditions, according to a statement issued by Meishan Steel Plant. Gas leaked from a pipeline into a gas tank under repair at about 11:50 a.m., when 13 technical workers were performing overhaul work in the tank at the plant located in the city's Yuhuatai district, it said. Rescuers pulled the workers out of the gas tank in the afternoon, and three died despite medical efforts. Meishan Steel Plant belongs to Baosteel Group, a state-owned corporation based in Shanghai. The plant outsourced equipment maintenance work to the Nanjing branch of Baoye Construction Corporation, where the workers are from, the statement said.