Scores of schoolchildren outside Moscow have reportedly been treated or hospitalized after exposure to foul gases that residents link to a nearby landfill.
Thousands protested against the Yadrovo landfill near the city of Volokolamsk in early March, leading to dozens of arrests.
“Twenty-three children have been hospitalized, 16 more received treatment,” an anonymous source told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday.
Although city officials denied that children were receiving treatment in comments to state-run TASS news agency, educational authorities told Interfax that four children were taken to hospital.
A Volokolamsk administration spokesperson confirmed to Interfax that a discharge of landfill gas occurred overnight.
Initial reports suggested the children were hospitalized because of an incident with pepper spray, which has been subsequently denied.
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