10,000 evacuated after chemical-carrying vehicles collide

More than 10,000 residents in east China's Zhejiang Province were evacuated Wednesday after two vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals collided late Monday, local officials said.

The people within a 1-km radius of the crash in the provincial capital Hangzhou were evacuated before traffic police and firefighters began to remove the vehicles, which were carrying 27 tonnes of vinyl chloride and 20 tonnes of resin, respectively, said government officials with Yuhang district, where the accident happened.

The Wuchang Zhongxin Primary School and some factories in the region were closed, officials said.

People living within the 1-km radius were advised to relocate, while those living in the 500-meter radius had to be evacuated, officials said.

A migrant worker living in the region said, "I was awakened at 6 a.m. by my landlord who told me to relocate to a square. When I got there, there were already many people there."

The nearby Xixi Wetland Park was also closed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to a notice issued by the park's organizing committee.

Vinyl chloride is a toxic gas that can cause dizziness and chest pains, and can lead to a coma or even death. Resin is an inflammable toxic substance.