Iran’s official IRNA news agency reports that 130 people have been hospitalized in the southeastern city of Zahedan after inhaling toxic gas.
More than 100 schools also were closed on October 27 across the city in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
Reports say about 60 of the people hospitalized were schoolchildren. Their symptoms included breathing problems, headaches, dizziness, and vomiting.
Zahedan's governor general, Abbas Ali Arjmandi, ruled out claims of sabotage in the city, which is near the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Arjmandi said a worker from a private company has been detained after allegedly unloading expired pesticides into one of the city’s wastewater canals on October 26.
He said the toxic gas was created by a chemical reaction between the pesticides and sewage in the canal.
Based on reporting by IRNA and AFP