(22 Mar 2018) A gas poisoning linked to a toxic landfill in a town outside Moscow left dozens hospitalised Wednesday, prompting the regional governor to promise to evacuate local children from the area.
Health officials in the town of Volokolamsk, 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Moscow, said that 57 children have been hospitalised with symptoms of gas poisoning, including nausea and fainting.
Many locals reacted angrily to the situation on Thursday.
"It is a really bad situation, we have an ecological catastrophe," said Svetlana Yaviza a mother of two children who have fallen ill.
Nadezhda, a pensioner being tested at the local hospital in the wake of the reported leak, pleaded with newly re-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin to save Volokolamsk.
"It is really scary that no-one is listening to us. Look at how on the TV they say that everything is fine. No state media channel is showing how bad it is - that's what's scary," she said.
According to Alexander Chuprakov, the Deputy Governor of Moscow Region the situation was not connected with a leak from the landfill and the authorities had no intention of shutting down the sites.
Authorities in Volokolamsk in early March called a temporary state of emergency after high levels of hydrogen sulfide were recorded around the landfill.
Local residents held a protest rally earlier this month, demanding authorities to close down a local landfill as a health hazard.
A group of Volokolamsk residents have filed a lawsuit demanding to close the landfill.
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