Gas heater kills six members of a family

People leave heaters burning which may cause asphyxia

MANSEHRA:

At least six members of a family, including four children died of inhaling toxic fumes owning to gas leakage in their house on Pano Road in Mansehra on Wednesday.

The deceased included Muhammad Afzal, his wife, mother, two girls aged seven and five and an 18-month old boy.

The victims had apparently left the gas heater on in their bedroom at night to protect themselves from extreme cold. However, there was gas load shedding and the flame died out. When the gas supply resumed, the fumes did not burn and kept on filling in the room putting the inmates to a deathly slumber.

When the family did not wake up till late in the morning, the neighbours grew suspicious and banged on the doors. Receiving no response, the locals decided to break the door. As the neighbours came in the bedroom, they saw all six of the family lying dead in their beds.

On the discovery of the bodies, the locals called police and Rescue 1122. Police shifted the bodies to King Abdullah College, however, the relatives refused an autopsy.

Subsequently, the bodies were handed over to the heirs after legal formalities. The family and community of the deceased also refused to allow media from coverage and taking footage and images of the fateful place and the deceased.

A shopkeeper selling gas heaters said that the gas utility services issue repeated warnings in print, electronic and social media to turn off gas appliances before going to bed and leave some ventilation open for fresh air. However, people ignore these warning and try to keep their rooms warm in freezing cold, this could prove fatal, he said, requesting anonymity, as aggrieved people would feel offended.

Resultantly, either the burning flame consumes all oxygen in the room, or there is supply outage and on resumption the room fills with gaseous fumes. Either way, people in such circumstances will die slowly in sleep, he said.

A few days ago, two labourers died in their shack after inhaling toxic fumes of burning coals they had lit to keep themselves warm in below zero temperature.

Earlier in December Nazir Ahmed and his wife Saydan Bibi suffocated to death at Kakul Tangola village of Abbottabad when they left the gas heater on and went to sleep. At around midnight, owing to low gas pressure or leakage, the heater went off and the room was filled with gas and both suffocated to death.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2021.