Five killed in Shanghai factory accident

SHANGHAI - Five people have died and another four were injured while cleaning a sewage pool at a factory in Shanghai on Tuesday afternoon, local authorities said.

A worker collapsed at about 2:30 p.m. at a food company in Chongming County while cleaning the sewage pool. Another eight workers tried to rescue him but also collapsed, according to the municipal work safety administration.

Five of the workers had died by Tuesday evening.

A staff member said they suffered electric shocks while cleaning the pool. A hospital doctor told Xinhua it was likely they suffered from gas poisoning.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.