Thousands of villagers have rioted in eastern China after two elderly women protesting over factory pollution died during police efforts to disperse them.
The rioting happened yesterday in Huankantou village, Dongyang city, in the wealthy coastal province of Zhejiang.
More than 50 police were injured on Sunday and rushed to hospital, with five in critical condition, a local doctor said. About four villagers were injured.
Police had tried to disperse about 200 elderly women who had kept a 24-hour vigil for two weeks at sheds and at a roadblock outside an industrial park housing about 13 chemical factories, villagers and local officials said.
Two of the women were killed, two villagers said today. "They were run over by police cars," one said. But the city government denied that anyone had been run over and killed.
Thousands of villagers clashed with police in riot gear, overturned about 10 police cars and hurled rocks at officers who had retreated to a local high school, residents and officials said.
It was the latest in a string of outbreaks of rural violence as China faces disgruntlement over a widening wealth gap and widespread corruption.
The ruling Communist Party is keen to curb dissent and preserve social stability, but a spate of recent protests illustrate the extent of grievances in rural China.