Two sisters from Hong Kong committed suicide in east China's Jiangxi province after their business failed, say police.

The sisters released coal gas at their home in Zhangshu city at around 22:00 on March 23, local police officer Chen Yongping said.

The younger sister, Zhan Miaoling, 52, died shortly after of gas poisoning.

Zhan Meiling, 60, survived, but killed herself by lying on a railway track the next morning.

The sisters started their wood product company in Zhangshu in 2005, after a similar factory in south China's Guangdong Province ran into difficulties. But the new company turned out to be another failure, said Chen.

Relatives in Hong Kong had been notified of their deaths, said Chen.