CHONGQING, Dec 26: Rescue teams on Friday fanned out across a mountainous region of southwestern China turned into a “death zone” after a gas field leak killed at least 191, the vast majority farmers living nearby.

Only two of the confirmed fatalities were workers employed at the Chuandongbei gas field, where a blow-out had released a 30-metre geyser of concentrated sulfurated hydrogen.

The rest of the bodies found scattered throughout Kai county with acid burns to their skin and respiratory systems were local residents, the China News Service reported.

A large number of the victims were either too old or too young to escape the deadly gases fast enough, according to Pan Benqing, an official with a hospital in Zhonghe Town.

“Many young people have gone out to work in faraway cities, leaving behind the elderly and kids at home who could not act swiftly to seek safety,” he said.

Wu Jianong, Vice Mayor of Chongqing, a large city 340 kilometres away, blamed poor transport and communications for hampering evacuation work.—AFP