Close to 600 people poisoned by sodium cyanide spill

MOSCOW (AP) -- Nearly 600 people have sought medical treatment following a sodium cyanide spill in a river in the Central Asia republic of Kyrgyzstan, and six are in serious condition, a Russian news agency reported Wednesday.

A truck carrying 20 tons of sodium cyanide powder to a gold mine veered off a mountain road on May 20 and crashed into a river that feeds Lake Issyk Kul, one of the largest bodies of water in Central Asia.

The damaged containers leaked 3,430 pounds of sodium cyanide.

The Canadian firm Cameco, the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, operates the Kumtor mine through its subsidiary, the Kumtor Operating Co.

Kumtor said last week that the leak posed "no serious threat to people, animals or agriculture."

However, fish and cattle were killed near the site of the spill. As of Wednesday, 580 people had sought medical treatment for poisoning, the Interfax news agency reported.