DINGBIAN, Shaanxi, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Families of the 11 female students who died from Tuesday's carbon monoxide poisoning at a middle school in northwestern Shaanxi Province, have been compensated.

    Each of the girls' family was compensated 200,000 yuan (29,050 U.S. dollars), according to the publicity office of the Dingbian County, where the school is located.

    So far, the bodies of seven girls were cremated and officials were accompanying the parents to help them deal with the aftermath, said an official with the office.

    Twelve fourth-grade girls, who studied at the primary education department of the Duiziliang Middle School, were poisoned after using a charcoal heater to warm their dorm room on Monday night and early Tuesday. The oldest of them was only aged 11. Eleven died at the hospital.

    Police said they believed a quilt fell on the stove during the night. It caught fire and then ignited coals being stored under one of the girl's beds. As the coals smoldered, the students were poisoned by gases.

    The sole survivor, Cai Maomao, who was being treated at the Dingbian County Hospital, was still in a coma, but the 11-year-oldgirl was recovering well, said doctors.

    "I'm so happy to hear she is able to breath without the aid of a machine, " said Cai Xingqiang, the girl's father. "Doctors says if she keeps doing well, she can be revive from the coma soon."

    Cai has two daughters and one son. Maomao, the second eldest child of the family, was described by the father as "lovely and caring".

    "We are not a rich family. Maomao always helps us do a lot of housework and to take care of her younger brother," said Cai, adding local government covered the fees to treat the girl.

    Investigation into the accident continues. Zhao Binghong, the former head of the School was dismissed from his post for allegedly being responsible for the incident.

    Using a coal stove to heat houses is common in winter. A teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, told Xinhua that each dorm-room usually held 12 students. Heaters and charcoal were provided by the school.

    The accident has aroused big concerns from governments at different levels on the safe use of heating systems at schools, especially at boarding schools.

    Soon after the incident, the Ministry of Education ordered schools across the country to conduct safety checks for carbon monoxide poisoning and fire risks.

    In Shaanxi, the provincial education department required all schools to improve the students' awareness of gas poisoning and safe use of electricity and fire. Schools were also asked to increase night patrols in the dorms.

    In the provincial capital of Xi'an, those schools, where coal stove were used in the student dorms, were ordered to install carbon monoxide detectors and to ensure the sound operation of ventilation systems.


Eleven girl students die of carbon monoxide poisoning in NW China 

     XI'AN, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Eleven female students in northwest China's Shaanxi Province have been confirmed dead of carbon monoxide poisoning, a provincial government official said on Tuesday. Full story

China warns schools on carbon monoxide after 11 girls die of poisoning 

    BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Education has ordered boarding schools across the country to conduct safety checks against carbon monoxide poisoning, after the death of 11 schoolgirls. Full story

Schoolmaster detained after carbon monoxide poisoning kills 11 girls in NW China

　 XI'AN, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- A principal and five other managers at a school in northwestern Shaanxi Province, where 11 female students died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Tuesday, have been detained for investigation.

    The procuratorate of Dingbian county, where the school is located, has also begun an investigation to determine whether managers failed to prevent the accident, said an official with the county's publicity department, who declined to give his name. Full story

School head sacked after carbon monoxide poisoning deaths 

    DINGBIAN, Shaanxi, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The head of a middle school in northwestern Shaanxi Province was dismissed from his post after the death of 11 school girls from carbon monoxide poisoning on Tuesday.

    An initial investigation showed Zhao Binghong, the former head of the Duiziliang Middle School in Dingbian County, was responsible for the incident, according to the Yulin City government. Full story