Student's leukaemia blamed on 'poisonous, smelly' dorm at Zhejiang university

At least a dozen university students have fallen seriously ill after moving into a women's dormitory building that parents have labelled a "gas chamber".

Chronic diseases including leukaemia and pneumonia as well as lung complaints and immune system problems have plagued the students since they first moved into the notoriously "smelly" dorm when it opened at Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua in Zhejiang three years ago.

"Four of [the sick students] live in the same room," said the mother of one of the students.

The mother said she remembered an "appalling smell" when she accompanied her daughter to the new dorm.

"They must have used decoration materials that were as cheap as possible," she said.

The story of the dorm has become an internet sensation on the mainland. More than two million people are thought to have viewed a complaint letter by the parents after it went viral on social media sites.