ARUKAINO UMUKORO writes that more Nigerians are dying from inhaling generator fumes even as the country’s energy sector is comatose
In the still of the night, it sneaked in quietly and lingered dangerously for hours. With every breath intake, the deadly gas known as carbon monoxide, found in fumes from generators as well as in car exhausts, sucked lives out of its hapless victims who were fast asleep. This was what happened on May 28, when Mrs. Chinyere Celestine, and four of her children were found dead in their home off Goodnews Street, in Azikoro suburb, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
They were said to have died in their sleep that night, while the generator was still on.
The father of the children and husband of Chinyere, identified as Celestine, who was said to be in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when the tragedy occurred, had called a neighbour when he could not reach his wife on telephone the next day. After several attempts to wake the victims, the neighbour raised the alarm that compelled other neighbours to force the door open. They found the victims’ lifeless bodies.
