Technicians seal burst Chinese gas well

The disaster was China's worst recent industrial accident, leaving a 10-square-mile "death zone" strewn with bodies of adults and children, some overcome as they tried to flee.

On Saturday, emergency crews began pouring thousands of cubic feet of mud down the well, which had spewed fumes for four days, Xinhua said. Minutes later, it sent a bulletin announcing, "Cap operation is completed successfully."

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Xinhua said Saturday that the official death toll had risen by seven to 198, but the one-sentence report didn't say when or how the additional deaths occurred.

The disaster began Tuesday night when a poisonous mix of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide erupted from the well, which Xinhua said was broken open by a drilling accident.

Some 9,185 people were treated for gas poisoning and other injuries, and 431 were still hospitalized 17 in critical condition, Xinhua said Friday. Newspaper photos showed children with red faces and their eyes swollen shut from chemical burns.

Technicians ignited the geyser of toxic gas on Wednesday, sending huge flames shooting into the sky in an effort to burn off the fumes and keep them from spreading.

People in nearby towns were sending truckloads of donated food and clothing for evacuees living in schools and government buildings, local officials and news reports said Saturday.

Donations included 20,000 sets of bedding, tons of rice, thousands of cases of noodles, more than 10,000 sets of clothing and 1,400 pairs of shoes, the newspaper Chongqing Economic Times reported.

"People from different districts of Chongqing have spontaneously donated relief materials and cash," said an official of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Kaixian county, where the gas field is located. He would give only his surname, Li.