A middle-aged man, his wife, and their two children reportedly lost their lives after inhaling deadly fumes from a generator at their home in Nkwele Ezunaka, near Onitsha, Anambra State.
Tragically, the mother-in-law and an apprentice also succumbed to the deadly fumes while asleep in the same building.
According to sources, Ifeanyi from Enugu state, a trader at Onitsha Bridge Head Market, had planned a surprise celebration of moving into a new apartment with his wife, who recently gave birth.
The family had just moved into the new apartment to celebrate the newborn baby and their new home when the unfortunate incident occurred.
“The entire family was enjoying themselves when suddenly there was a power outage. The man decided to turn on the generator stationed at the veranda close to the bedroom,” a family source revealed.
The celebration continued late into the night, and unfortunately, they all fell asleep without turning off the generator.
The next morning, a friend who was supposed to join in the celebration but couldn’t make it went to visit and discovered the locked doors with the generator still running.
After receiving no response, the friend alerted other neighbors, and upon forcing the door open, they found the lifeless bodies of the family members and others.
The wife and one of the daughters were rushed to Borromeo hospital while still unconscious, but their lives could not be saved, despite efforts to resuscitate them, including oxygen therapy.
Miraculously, the 4-day-old baby survived without any issues, raising questions about the circumstances of the others’ deaths.Rev. Fr. Izunna Okonkwo, the manager of St. Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha, confirmed that only the newborn baby was in stable condition when they arrived at the hospital.
Unfortunately, the other four individuals had already passed away before reaching the facility.
An investigation into the tragic incident is currently underway, as authorities attempt to unravel the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
The police spokesperson, Tochukwu Ikenga, termed the incident unfortunate and stated that the inquiry is still ongoing, led by the Divisional Police Officer in the area.
