Two siblings die in their shop after inhaling generator fumes

wo siblings have died after inhaling generator fumes while passing the night at their shop.

Michael, aged 21 and Paul, aged 19, were found lying dead on Tuesday morning, May 21, 2019. 

The brothers were known to sleep in their shop at Ojota, Lagos, and were usually among the first to open every day. However, they delayed in opening their shop yesterday and a concerned neighbour called their phones only to hear them ringing inside the closed shop.

At this point, the neighbour got worried and raised alarm, causing people to gather and forcefully break into the shop.

The brothers were seen lying lifeless with a white substance around their mouth and head.

At first, suicide was suspected but preliminary police investigations determined that they were choked with the carbon monoxide from a running generating set inside the shop, Guardian Nigeria reports.

The neighbour who discovered them dismissed reports of carbon monoxide poisoning and pointed out that he suspected foul play.

He told the publication: “This is not the first time they are using this generator though it is quite new. The generator supplies light to the whole house and we usually put it on when there is no power, which is almost every day. More investigations should be carried out because we are suspecting there is more to this than meets the eye. How can two whole human beings just go like that in one day? We need more light on this.”