TRAGEDY! Generator fume kills 10 wedding guests, leaves 30 on life support in Imo

Fume from a generator has killed 10 guests who attended a traditional wedding in Umuomumu Mbieri in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State on Monday.

About 30 others are also currently on life support machines at different hospitals as a result of the fumes they inhaled from the generator.

According to reports, one Favour and Ifeanyi had their traditional wedding at Uzoegbu’s Compound, Umuomumu Mbieri in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state on Sunday. While Favour and Ifeanyi left after the traditional rites, their relatives stayed back and slept in the family house.

A source said: “After the traditional wedding, the couple, Ifeanyi and Favour, left while their relatives stayed back. The bride’s parents, who are among the survivors, also slept in the house.

“It was in the morning that it dawned on everybody that something bad had happened. The ‘I pass my neighbour’ generator was kept in the kitchen, while the doors and windows were locked.

“People started knocking on the doors for them to come out but to no avail. The doors were forced open and to the surprise of everybody, about 50 persons, who slept in the building, were found unconscious; some were already dead.

“We quickly mobilised our people and rushed them to hospitals. The unconscious are on life-support machines as we speak.”

The state Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Ladodo, while confirming the incident in Owerri, said he had ordered a full-scale investigation into the incident.

Ladodo stated: “The generator was on in the kitchen till the dawn of the day, while the doors and windows of the rooms the guests slept in were locked.

“It is a case of sudden and unnatural death, but we have commenced investigation into it. Assistance is being rendered to the survivors.”

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