Generator fumes choke 7 to death in Bayelsa

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

Seven young men lost their lives after inhaling fumes from a generator in a music studio along Transformer Road, in Amarata axis of Yenagoa, Bayelsa.

The deceased persons were said to be working in the recording studio, owned by one of them, identified as Akpos Barakubo, where the incident happened on Monday night.

According to the residents of the area, the recording studio personnel were working into midnight using their generating set due to poor power supply in the state, may have fallen asleep and forgot to switch off the generator.

It was gathered that six bodies were later discovered dead in the morning, while one who was unconscious and rushed to the hospital later gave up the ghost.

It was also gathered that most of the deceased are undergraduates of the Niger Delta University, who are into the recording business to help themselves in school.

As of the time of filling the report, security operatives have cordoned off the area, while the corpses have been evacuated to the mortuary.

Our correspondent who visited the area saw residents discussing the incident in groups lamenting the poor power situation in Bayelsa.

Mr Akpoebi James noted that the deaths were avoidable if only there were public power in the state capital.

“The death of these energetic young men who died in their prime is painful and regrettable and they died working to make a living out of their enterprise,” he said.

When contacted, ASP Musa Muhammed, Spokesman of the Police Command in Bayelsa said he was unaware of the development yet.

He promised to find out and call back but has yet to do so.