Couple, 3 children suffocate to death from generator fumes

Residents of Umeh community, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State, were, weekend, thrown into confusion, as a family of three was suffocated by fumes from a power generating set.



Vanguard learnt that the deceased, identified as Mr. Jemudia, his wife and daughters were found dead in early hours of Saturday by their neighbours after they noticed that fumes were coming out of their three-bedroom flat apartment.

A source in the community said the deceased had put on their power generator due to power outage, before they went to bed in one of the rooms in their apartment on Friday night, after they had earlier attended a funeral ceremony in the community.

According to the source,

“we were surprised when residents of the neighbourhood alerted the whole community that Mr. Jemudia and his family had died as a result of inhaling fumes from his generator.”

He explained that the generator’s vibration had moved it, causing its exhaust to face the room in which they (the deceased) were sleeping.

The source, who preferred anonymity, said:

“When we got there, we saw fumes all over their room. They died as a result of suffocation from the generator fumes, which they had inhaled.” Describing the incident as a rude shock to the entire community, he said: “We have never witnessed or heard of this kind of occurrence in this community or in neighbouring communities.”

He said the bodies had been deposited in a morgue in one of the hospitals close to the community.