About two dozen employees of a metalwork company in northeastern China were taken to hospital after a sudden power outage in a factory led to carbon monoxide poisoning.

The failure comes as the country’s northeast grapples with a series of power shortages brought on by high coal prices and a surge in demand.

On Friday, authorities in Liaoyang, a prefecture-level city in Liaoning province, suddenly cut the electricity supply of a factory operated by Liaoning Penghui Zhuye, a steelmaking and metal casting firm, according to local media reports.

This shut down the exhaust system of the factory’s two blast furnaces, resulting in 23 people inhaling carbon monoxide. All the affected workers are still being treated in hospital on Monday, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.

Guest post from South China Morning Post