More than 200 hundred people in Zahedan, most of them schoolchildren, were hospitalized because of poisoning due to the inadequate disposal of oil and gasoline waste in the city.
Mahmoudreza Miri Benhar, the head of Zahedan Medical Sciences University, told Mehr News that a number of barrels with expired chemical material were washed out, causing pollution in a 40-hectare area.
He added that the cleaning activities were carried out near a school; therefore, most of the people affected were students.
The report goes on to say that 235 people were hospitalized at 2 AM on Monday and so far 150 have been released. In addition, homes in the vicinity are being visited by health care teams to monitor citizens for symptoms.
Also, the Sistan-Baluchistan education ministry has announced that schools in north Zahedan were closed on Monday October 27 due to air pollution in the region.
