Beijing, Friday 21 November 2008: Over 100 primary school students in south China were taken to hospital after they inhaled gas emitted by an illegal refinery nearby, a local official and state media said on Friday.

The sulphurous gas escaped at about 9:00 am (0630 IST) yesterday in Zengcheng city, Guangdong province, Tang Jianning, an official dealing with emergency affairs at the city government, said over telephone.

A village school just several hundred yards away had to send all its pupils for hospital checks after the smell caused a boy to lose consciousness and made many other children sick, the sources said.

Tang said one student was still in hospital as of today afternoon.

The refinery, which produced lubricants from recycled waste oil, often operated at night to escape government checks, they said.

Following the accident, officials have ordered it demolished within three days, it added.

Industrial accidents occur frequently in China where factories rely on inexpensive labour and safety rules are routinely flouted in the quest for higher output.

Industrial and road accidents killed 101,480 people in China last year, according to the government. It did not provide a further breakdown but about a fifth of those are believed to have been from industrial accidents. (Agency)