Generator fumes kill woman

2008-04-23 14:08

Verashni Pillay

Johannesburg - A woman was found dead on Wednesday morning from carbon monoxide poisoning, due to the generator she was using after power was cut in the Kempton Park area.

Netcare 911 paramedics received a call at about 07:30 on Wednesday morning after the woman's colleague went to her house to find out why she wasn't at work.

"She phoned her from outside the house and heard the phone ringing," said Netcare 911 spokesperson, Mark Stokoe.

Paramedics broke into the house and found the woman dead in the main bedroom.

The generator is thought to have malfunctioned, killing the woman and critically injuring her son, who was found in the bathroom.

Stokoe said it was not certain how long the generator had been running, as electricity had been off since 14:00 on Tuesday when a substation in the area caught fire.

"Paramedics say the carbon monoxide was at an unbearable level in the house," said Stokoe.

Several family pets were found dead in the house.

Ekurhuleni municipality spokesperson Zweli Dlamini told News24 that technicians were working hard to restore power after the substation caught fire on Tuesday,.

"A transformer blew up," said Dlamini, adding a full investigation was underway.

He said power had been restored to about 75% of the area by Wednesday morning.

Areas that are likely to be without power for five days are the Kempton Park CBD, Kempton Park Extensions 1, 2 and 4, Estherpark Extension 9, Allen Grove, Rhodesfield and Spartan Manor.

- News24