Evacuees began returning home yesterday morning after their villages were confirmed safe, one day after the capping of the gas well which blew out last Tuesday in southwest China.

　　"Air and water in most villages are safe now and evacuees can begin returning," said Zhang Shaozhi, director of the local environment protection department.

　　The gas blowout in Kaixian County of Chongqing Municipality killed at least 233 people in Kaixian as of yesterday as more bodies were found in nearby mountainous villages, according to the local government.

　　An investigation team was busy working while environmental protection staff, health and epidemic prevention workers, and over 1,000 soldiers, armed police and militia, continued their rescue work.

　　Yesterday morning, some 600 officials with 125 vehicles were organized by the local government to help residents return home as the blowout had already been contained. Villagers living near the gas well are expected to go home today.

　　Tests conducted by environment protection and health experts indicated that most parts of the affected area had reached the standards necessary for sustaining human life.

　　But residents living in the central area can return only after all the sterilizing work completes today.

　　The tragedy took place at a natural gas field in Kaixian at 10:00pm on Tuesday when a well burst suddenly and released a high concentration of natural gas and sulfurated hydrogen. The natural gas field is 337 kilometers to the northeast of Chongqing.

　　The gas blowout, the worst of its kind in the country, has also poisoned over 9,000 others in Kaixian County.

　　A total of 64,000 residents were removed out of the accident area. An operation to cap the gas well was completed successfully at 11:00am on Saturday.

　　Over 100 medical workers and anti-chemical warfare corps soldiers started a large-scale disinfection of the gas blowout site and eight nearby villages soon after the capping operation was completed on Saturday morning.

　　Soft wind and moderate rain in the next three days will help, said experts with the Central Meteorological Station on Saturday.

　　"Breezes and moderate rain in the next three days will be helpful for preventing the spread of the gas fumes," said Qiao Lin, a senior engineer with the Central Meteorological Station. "Such weather will also help pollutants sink into the earth in areas near the gas field."

　　But experts also warned that rain would also make the earth pollution worse and local government were instructed to take measures to clear the pollutant promptly.

　　Most food is safe to eat in the area, according to tests conducted by the Disease Prevention Center in Kaixian County.

　　The drinking water, grain and vegetable are roughly safe, but water near the accident well still contains much poisonous sulfurated hydrogen which is easy to dissolve in water, said Director Zhang.

　　The center is still monitoring water quality near the well and the evacuees can return home as soon as the water is safe for life.

　　After the well was capped successfully on Saturday, some emergency workers have begun returning home and the municipal and county governments have organized 900 medical and quarantine workers to monitor food and water safety in the area around the blowout site.

　　Meanwhile, 260 armed police have been mobilized to move human corpses to funeral homes. They will also clear away dead pigs, cows, birds, ducks and other animals left near the gas field.

　　In five villages near the gas well, the bodies of poisoned animals, including 2,275 rabbits, 866 pigs, 241 ducks, 476 chickens and 38 dogs were found and buried.

　　Kaixian has received 21,600 quilts, 18,000 items of clothing, 11,000 padded overcoats and some 300 tons of food, medicine and other donations from neighboring areas. More relief materials are still on the way.