bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Zhuang Pinghui

Six schoolchildren from poor families in southern China died in their sleep from poisonous fumes after burning coal in their room to keep warm, according to a news website report.
The four boys and two girls were found dead in a house in Xingren county in Guizhou province, Thepaper.cn said.
The children had decided to spend the night at a house rented for a pupil rather than go back to their school dormitory when the accident happened, according to the article.
The incident has echoes of other deaths involving children from poor families in Guizhou in recent years.
READ MORE: ‘Left-behind children’ found stabbed to death in southern China
The deaths of the five middle school and one primary school pupils occurred on the night of January 3, but the details have only just been made public.
A large amount of coal was burned in the children’s room to keep it warm, filling it with poisonous fumes.
A child who was sleeping closer to the door survived and found the others dead when the pupil woke up, the report said.
Police ruled it was an accident and the county government lent each family 50,000 yuan (HK$59,000) for funerals, according to the article.
The money was given before anyone party was found responsible for the accident on condition that the funerals were held quickly, the report said. As pupils were held responsible for their own deaths the money was allocated as a government subsidy to help the families.
The deaths occurred in an area that is home to the Buyi and Miao ethnic minorities and the report said the children were from poor families and that some had single parents.
A brother and sister from Guizhou were murdered last year, and the girl sexually assaulted, while their father was away working in another city.
READ MORE: Officials sacked over suicide of four abandoned children who drank pesticide
The children’s deaths came two months after four siblings - one boy and three girls aged five to 13 - who lived in poverty near Bijie in Guizhou, killed themselves by drinking pesticide. Their father was working away from home.
Five “left-behind boys” living on the streets in Bijie were found dead in a large rubbish skip in 2012 after breathing in carbon monoxide while burning fuel to keep warm.


China’s population drops for third year in a row despite uptick in births

China worker wins US$820,000 in lottery, forced to share winnings with company colleagues

China meets annual GDP target with 5% growth in 2024 – as it happened

Longevity secrets from 124-year-old woman, Zhao Lusi’s abuse claims: 5 trending stories

China society

Six Chinese children die in their sleep after breathing in poisonous coal fumes while trying to keep warm

A room in the rented house where the children were found dead. Photo: SCMP Pictures

News

China

People & Culture