THE Ondo State Police Command, on Saturday, said it had begun an investigation into the cause of death of a woman and her baby inside their room in Owo, the headquarters of Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.
It was gathered that the 29-year-old woman, identified as Tawa, and her husband were found unconscious while their five-month-old baby was already dead in the room on Friday.
The trio were said to have gone to bed on Thursday evening hale and hearty.
A source said the couple bought a new generator a few days before the incident and they put the generator on Thursday evening before going to bed, raising suspicion that the incident must have been caused by the generator’s fume.
According to the source, the family was met in critical condition on Friday. While the baby was already dead, the couple were unconscious and were quickly rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, where the wife gave up the ghost and the medics were battling to save the life of the husband.
The source said, ” When the deceased’s elder sister did not see her at work on Friday afternoon, she became worried. So she and some co-workers went to their house to check them.
“When they got to their house, they met the door locked and had to forcefully break in and were shocked to see the couple in a state of coma while their baby was already dead. So they rushed them to the FMC where the wife died at the hospital and the husband in a critical condition.”
When contacted, the state Public Relations Officer of the police command, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident but said the cause of the death was not certain yet and investigation had begun
The PPRO said, “We can’t say exactly what caused the incident for now. Some are saying it was caused by generator fume, but an empty bottle of snipper was also found in the room. So it may be that the couple sprayed snipper into the room before going to bed. So investigation is ongoing on the matter.”