Two girls in a village in northwestern Gansu Province died after eating noodles that were tainted with rat poison, police said yesterday.

　　The 10-year-old girl bought a packet of instant noodles and shared them with friends in Zhangjiawan Village after helping her mother pack rat poison at home, said the officer. Five boys and a 3-year-old girl who also ate the noodles were being treated for nausea and seizures, said the officer, who was reached by telephone in Lanzhou, the provincial capital, and would give only the girl's surname, Wang.