Eleven people have died in a food poisoning in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said Sunday.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, more than 150 people have shown symptoms of poisoning and were sent to hospitals, the Hotan City Committee of the Communist Party of China said in a statement.

Villagers from the township of Sangzhu in Pishan County, Hotan, have shown symptoms of vomitting and convulsions after their suppers on Friday, according to the statement.

The poisoned villagers were then rushed to local hospitals. Those who were in serious conditions are still receiving treatments in hospitals, said the statement, without elaborating the number of them.

An investigation into the cause of the poisoning is underway.