Gas tragedy: No answers yet
2005-05-05 08:36
Duma Pewa and Eagan Williamson
Pietermaritzburg - Police have not yet revealed the cause of death of a mother and her two children at a KwaZulu-Natal resort at the weekend.
A post-mortem was done on the bodies of Carolyn Home, 31, and her two children, Megan, 3, and Connor, 1 on Wednesday.
They were found dead on the bathroom floor of their chalet at Seletwane Fly Fishing resort near Bergville on Sunday night.
Ian Home, the husband and father, was unconscious but still breathing. He was taken to Harrismith Hospital for treatment and has since been discharged.
Superintendent Joshua Gwala said on Wednesday: "The post-mortem results are not yet available as 'laboratory' tests are still being conducted."
Gwala said a team of forensic experts from Pretoria would on Thursday conduct investigations at the chalet, which was empty and cordoned off on Wednesday.
"An investigation is a process and not an event and therefore results cannot be made available immediately. It depends on how soon they finish the tests," he said.
The owner of the chalet, Johan du Toit, declined to comment, preferring to do so only once investigations were finalised.
"I am not an expert on gas matters and it would therefore be improper for me to commit myself by making statements at this stage. There are many possibilities," he said.
Du Toit expressed regret about the tragedy and expressed his condolences to the deceased's family.
Carbon monoxide
Meanwhile, a gas expert said it was quite possible that carbon monoxide poisoning caused the fatalities.
Hendrik Lombard of Vanderbijlpark, a former head of Sasol's Natref Laboratory, said carbon monoxide was released by the burning of gas, for example by the geyser in the chalet's bathroom.
It is odourless, and thus causes many gas-related deaths.
Lombard said liquid petroleum gas has no natural odour, but a sharp chemical odour was added during the refining process so that leaks can be detected.
He said carbon monoxide killed very quickly, because a victim was too disorientated to react and escape from the source of the gas.
Carolyn, who was a journalist at the Saturday Star, and her children will be buried in Pretoria on Friday.
Bob de Lange of the Liquified Petroleum Gas Association (LPGA) said installation and ventilation were the most important issues in the use of gas.
"It is important that the fittings be installed by qualified people."
He said ventilation tiles were equally important to allow
fresh air to enter at the bottom of a room and stale air to leave at the top.