Deaths linked to tainted vinegar in Xinjiang

HOTAN, Xinjiang - Police on Monday blamed tainted vinegar for causing a mass poisoning that killed at least 11 people and sickened about 120 others at a Ramadan meal in Northwest China.

A 6-year-old was among the dead in the incident, which occurred in Sangzhu, a village in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on late Friday, according to local police. Another person is in critical condition while the others are no longer in danger after being treated at the hospital.

An initial probe showed that the villagers, at a late night Ramadan meal, had drunk vinegar from two plastic barrels that had previously contained antifreeze. They began to feel sick the next morning.