5 dead from oil tanker waste gas poisoning

Asphalt waste gas has been blamed for the death of five crew members on an oil tanker in central China's Hubei Province, local officials said Tuesday.

Five crew members on the Zhenlingyou 778 oil tanker were poisoned by asphalt waste gas on Monday afternoon after they unloaded asphalt onto a dock in the Dengjiakou water area in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, according to the Changjiang River Administration of Navigational Affairs.

All five suffocated before local police arrived on the scene.

Further investigation is underway.