Bucharest, 4 December 1996 (RFE/RL) - Health officials in Romania say problems with water quality have resulted in the deaths of 11 children in the country's southeast.
Our correspondent reports that six children have died in the city of Rovinari where another 20 people are hospitalized, 13 in serious condition. In all some 265 people in the city have reportedly taken ill. Most are suffering from acute diarrhea.
Health problems related to bad water were first reported in the city in October, but have recently worsened. Authorities say that outdated water treatment facilities are responsible.
Bad water is blamed for the deaths of five more children in Turnu Severin, also in the southeast, where another 19 children are reported ill.