The authorities in Kirgizstan have evacuated large numbers of people from the village of Barskaun, where a truck carrying sodium cyanide crashed into the river two weeks ago.

A fleet of buses carrying more than a thousand residents, mostly women and children, has set off for holiday resorts in the mountains.

The Canadian company which was transporting the cyanide to a gold-mine nearby has promised compensation to anyone affected by the accident.

But people in Barskaun say they've had no payments yet.

They've also demanded that the mining company stop using cyanide to purify the gold -- or close down the mine altogether.