Spate of Deaths Sparks Criticism of China’s Smokeless Coal Push
- Incidents come as local governments push cleaner type of coal
- Internet users question if more deaths are going unreported
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A spate of fatal carbon monoxide poisonings across northern China is raising questions about the country’s push to get rural residents to burn a special type of coal during the winter to combat pollution.
At least six people died and about a dozen people were hospitalized in the city of Tangshan in Hebei this year, state-run CCTV reported this week. More than 70 patients wereadmitted to a hospital in nearby Cangzhou on Nov. 22 because they inhaled the poisonous gas, local media reported.