Three die of nitrate poisoning

BEIJING (AP):Official media say three children have died from nitrite poisoning after drinking milk from two dairies in northwestern China. Thirty-five others, mostly children, were sickened and are being treated.

The website of Pingliang News, a city government newspaper in Gansu province, said yesterday one of the patients is in critical condition.

It said the dairies have been sealed off while their managers are investigated.

A staffer surnamed Huang at the city's Communist Party news office says authorities have asked food and health experts to determine the source of the nitrite.