Three people were killed and six injured Friday afternoon after toxic gas leaked from a chemical plant in central China's Hunan Province, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at 5:15 PM  when Xiangtan City's Huaye Electrolytic Manganese Co. was experimenting a new product, said a spokesman with the city's publicity department.

The six injured were sent to the hospital. People in and around the plant were evacuated, the spokesman said.

Local environmental protection and health authorities were tracking the gas pollution, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2010)