Again, generating set fumes kill father, son

Barely 48 hours after fumes from a generating set killed three people in Edo State, the toxic smokes on Tuesday morning led to the death of a businessman, Ayodele Megbuwawon, and his teenage son, Tobi.

The incident occurred at Iwaya in Yaba, Lagos Mainland. According to an eyewitness, the duo switched on their generating set at the lobby of their bungalow apartment, shut the doors and windows before going to sleep on Monday night.

While Tobi was discovered dead on Tuesday morning by neighbours, who suspected all wasn’t well in their home, Megbuwawon passed on at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba.

According to neighbours, one Segun was the one who peeped through a hole on the door and saw Megbuwawon lying helpless on the floor. They said he raised the alarm, adding that residents of the community came out, broke the window of the house in order to save the victims.

The residents described the man as peaceful and accommodating, noting that it was because of him the government had not chased them out of Iwaya. According to Monday Okey, the house smelt of fumes (Carbon Monoxide) when they entered.

He said: “I was in my room when Segun came and knocked. He said something was wrong with Ijaloba. That it is like he fell down. We looked through the door and saw him on the ground. So, we quickly broke the window and entered inside. He was breathing slowly. We also ran to check on Tobi but his body was already stiffened.

“We rushed him to LUTH and were asked to pay N250,000. They were attending to him when we left to look for the money. We went round the community appealing to people for donations, which they did. But by the time we returned to the hospital with the money, he was dead.”

A cousin to the deceased, Evangelist Michael Megbuwawon, who spoke with newsmen at their residence, said they were sad they locked themselves up and turned on the generating set.

“It is a sad news to us. We are not happy because we don’t understand how they would switch on the generating set inside and lock the doors. We were called when the incident happened and that’s why we came here. We are from Ilaje in Ondo State but we stay at Ajegunle.

“At the moment, we are more interested in his burial. Once the burial is done, we would meet at Ajegunle.”