Santiago (Dominican Republic), March 16 (IANS/EFE) Around 200 employees at a gold mine in the northeastern Dominican town of Cotui suffered food poisoning, according to an executive of Canadian-owned Barrick Gold.

Emergency services personnel, however, said 400 people were affected.

The workers grew sick after eating meals provided by Sodexo, an outside contractor, Barrick Gold's Fernando Sanchez told Z-101 radio Monday.

He described the situation as 'manageable' and 'not in the least alarming'.

Only 200 of the 3,500 employees at the Pueblo Viejo mine fell sick after the food, Sanchez said.

But the regional director of the COE emergency management agency, Edwin Olivarez, said earlier Monday that 400 workers were affected, two of them seriously.

The Dominican Health Minister, police and other institutions have opened an investigation into the incident.

Physicians at the public hospital in Cotui said mine employees's symptoms included vomiting and severe headaches.