Generator fume kills four in A’Ibom

The house

Four persons, Emem David, her two children and a girlfriend to a neighbour, identified as Raphael, have died from inhalation of a generator fume, which was placed by the side of the door to their room.

David was said to have taken the generator to the door side on Thursday night to prevent it from being drenched by the rain.

The incident happened on Uyo Road, Nung Udoe, Ibesikpo/Asutan Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State.

The landlord, Mr. Ekere Benson, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said David left the generator near the door and mistakenly placed the exhaust pipe facing the room.

He stated that on Friday morning, the generator was still working, while nobody in the compound had any inkling of what had happened to them.

He added that it was when he returned from work on Friday evening that he learnt that some of his tenants had died of generator fume.

“I provided a place for every tenant in the house to place their generators. I also provided corrugated iron sheet to cover the generators in case of rainfall.

“On Friday morning, I saw the generator beside Emem’s door, still working. I did not know that she had placed the exhaust pipe facing her room.

“When I came back from work, I was told that some people died in my compound, comprising a female tenant, her two children and a young lady who came to visit her boyfriend that had travelled to Port Harcourt before the incident.

“The husband of the woman was not around at the time of the incident. He is a truck driver. The moment I heard of the incident, I called the police,” he said.

But David’s family did not believe that their daughter and her two children died of the generator fume.

One of her siblings, Mr. Sunday Asuquo, who spoke on behalf of the family, stated that from what they saw, the victims died of food poisoning. He added that their food plates showed that the victims had yet to finish eating when they died.

The family said David’s mother in-law had repeatedly threatened that she would not marry her son.

He said, “My elder sister called me on Friday and said she heard that our sister and her children had died of a generator smoke.

“When I arrived, I saw my sister in a police vehicle being taken to mortuary. When I saw my sister, her lips were completely black and those of the children. This is a clear case of food poisoning. A test must be conducted on the food they ate to ascertain what actually killed them. But for us, we are convinced that the four died of food poisoning.

“We heard that the generator was outside and not by the door as claimed.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Akwa Ibom State Police Command, Mr. Etim Dickson, said the deceased were suspected to have died of the effect of carbon monoxide from a small generator.

He added that the autopsy report would resolve whatever doubt the family might have had about the death.

He said, “The people are suspected to have died of the effect of carbon monoxide from a small generator. An autopsy report will resolve whatever speculations people might have.”

PUNCH