10 wedding guests choke to death in Imo State as they are poisoned by generator fumes

ABOUT 10 people were killed as a wedding ceremony in Imo State over the weekend when guests chocked to death from the fumes of a generators that was powering the home of one of the couples' parents.

In the first such tragedy of its kind, the incident happened at Umuomumu Mbieri in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State. Apparently, the guests had come from Anambra State and decided to pass the night at their in-law’s house after the ceremony when tragedy struck.

Apart from the 10 casualties, 20 other guests suffered from the effects of fumes and were hospitalised. Imo State police commissioner Rabiu Ladodo, said that the generator was on overnight and in the morning when the dead were found, their remains and the survivors were taken to Ikeduru General Hospital.

He added: “The generator was on in the kitchen while the doors and widows of the rooms the guests slept in were locked. It is a case of sudden and natural death but we have commenced an investigation and assistance is being rendered to the survivors.”