Two die after inhaling generator fumes

Two men, identified simply as Kunle and Sule, have lost their lives after spending the night in their workshop with a working generator at Bola Street, Ebute Meta, Lagos State.

A commercial bus driver and a panel beater respectively, the two friends were said to have chosen to spend the night in the makeshift workshop due to a pressing business the next morning.

Their dead bodies were said to have been discovered the next morning by the owner of the workshop.

A resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “Both men worked late that Friday night and instead of going home, decided to spend the night there, possibly to finish up whatever they were doing the next day. As there was power failure that night, they put on the generator.”

PUNCH Metro gathered that the generator, which was initially kept outside, was later brought into the room, in the middle of the night when a downpour began.

The source said, “There was a downpour that Friday night. To keep the generator out of the rain, they brought it inside the room and continued sleeping. Unfortunately, no one noticed anything until the next morning, when the owner of the workshop came around and found it locked from inside.”

After raising the alarm, concerned residents were said to have broken into the workshop and discovered the lifeless bodies of the two men and the workshop filled with fumes from the still functioning generator.

A report was said to be made the at the Denton Police station, after which the bodies were said to have been recovered by policemen from the station led by the Divisional Police Officer.

“We learned that the families of both men came to claim their bodies. In fact, Kunle was taken to Ibadan and buried that same day, while Sule has been buried at Aton Cemetery,” the source said.