GUANGZHOU: Five people remain in hospital and more than 16,000 others were evacuated after a chemical blaze in a warehouse in the southern metropolis Guangzhou.

A firefighter and a student are among the five who are still being treated in hospital after suffering from poisoning.

Forty-nine evacuees were sent to local hospitals Wednesday night but have since been discharged. Most of the evacuees were students from two nearby university campuses.

The accident occurred at around 6:00 pm on Wednesday, when some workers were carrying bags of the chemical hydrosulphite into the warehouse. Due to heavy rain they were hurrying, as the chemical is extremely combustible when wet.

Unfortunately, one worker dropped a bag on the floor and the seal was broken. Before workers could clean up the mess rain started falling.

"The experience on Wednesday night was very scary," a student from Guangdong AIB Polytechnic College surnamed Wen told China Daily.

Wen and her roommates smelt something strange at first but did not know what exactly had happened until 7 pm, when teachers told them the warehouse had caught fire and asked them to stay in the classroom.

When the situation deteriorated, lots of students decided to rush out of the building, she said.

They ran to Guangzhou Grand World Scenic Park, a large park on the opposite site of the campus from the warehouse.

Wen fainted when she got to the park, and was taken to a nearby hospital by her classmates.

"The doctors said I was poisoned by the chemical, and I have to stay in the hospital for at least 72 hours," Wen said.

Most evacuees spent the night in Guangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

"There was a heavy storm on Wednesday afternoon, which got the chemical wet and ignited it," said Yu Shuxi, deputy director of the Bureau of Work Safety of Guangzhou Municipality.

Guangzhou Environmental Protection Bureau claimed the accident did not heavily pollute the environment.

Source: China Daily