BEIJING, Nov 1: Twenty thousand people were evacuated in central China after a leak of poisonous ammonia gas at a fertiliser factory left one dead and six critically injured, state media reported on Wednesday.

A worker died at the site after a pipe burst at the factory, owned by the Huangmailing Phosphorus Chemical Industry Group Company, in Hubei province.

Three other workers were critically ill along with a fire-fighter, a 16-year-old girl and a pregnant woman in a nearby village in Dawu county, it said.

Schools and houses nearby were immediately evacuated while fire-fighters sprayed water into the air in shifts to clear the gas. However, the water then flowed into the Huanhe river creating `super-high’ levels of ammonia and nitrogen and threatening supplies downstream.—Reuters