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The Police Command in Anambra State has confirmed the death of a couple, two children and others from suspected generator fumes in their residence at Nkwele Ezunaka, near Onitsha.
The Eastern Updates gathered that a middle-aged man, his wife, two children and two others, lost their lives after inhaling poisonous fumes from a generating set at their residence.
The spokesperson for the Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, who confirmed the development to reporters yesterday, however, pointed out that the police were yet to unravel the circumstances surrounding their death.
Already, he said the Commissioner of Police has directed the Divisional Police Officer in the area to find out what happened.
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Meanwhile, an eyewitness said the middle-aged man, identified as Ifeanyi, who hailed from Enugu State, and a trader at Onitsha Bridge Head Market, had planned a surprise package of moving into a new apartment for his wife, who put to bed few days ago.
The witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the mother-in-law and an apprentice also suffocated to death while sleeping in the same building.
According to him, it was the same night they moved into the apartment to celebrate both the newborn baby and the mansion that the incident occurred.
He said: ‘The entire members of the family were enjoying themselves when suddenly there was a power outage. The man had to put on the generator stationed at the veranda close to the bedroom.
‘The celebration continued into the night before they all slept off and didn’t remember to switch off the generator. The next morning, a friend who was supposed to join them in the celebration but couldn’t meet up, went to the deceased house only to discover that the doors were locked with the generator still on.
‘After knocking for sometime without response, he alerted other neighbours who forced the door open and saw the lifeless bodies, it was only the four-day-old baby that survived,’ he said.
The witness added: ‘The wife and one of the daughters were still unconscious when they were rushed to the hospital, but efforts to resuscitate them, including placing them on oxygen, failed, and they were pronounced dead.’
Manager of St. Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha, Rev. Fr. Izunna Okonkwo, also confirmed that only the newborn baby was in stable condition when they arrived the hospital.
