A gas leak killed two people at a heavy water plant run by Pakistan's atomic energy agency, a spokesman for the agency said today.
The leak at the Khushab heavy water plant in central Punjab province took place during its annual maintenance. The plant was closed at the time.
The spokesman for Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) said steps had been taken to protect the plant, and that there was no radiocative leak, adding a chemical gas was involved.
Pakistan built its first nuclear power station in 1972 in Karachi with Canadian help. But Western countries, under pressure from the United States, later halted co-operation amid suspicions Pakistan was secretly developing nuclear weapons.