The residents of Rumuomosi in Obio/Akpo Local Government Area of Rivers State, were left in total shock on Monday with the discovery of the decomposing bodies of a family of six in their sitting room who were suspected to have been killed of the fumes emitted by their generator.
According to a report by DailyTimes, the decomposing bodies were found, at their residence on Salvation Street by concerned neighbours who had gone in search of them when they realized that not one of them had been seen since last Friday.
The discovery has thrown the residents in a mourning mood. The family is made up of the father, mother, and four children. The ages of the children were said to be 6, 4, 3 and 2. The police evacuated the bodies on Monday afternoon.
While speaking to a correspondent, the landlord of the house who asked for anonymity because the police was investigating the matter, said he saw the family last on Friday morning.
“Their generator was on when I returned home on Friday evening and I presumed they were inside the house. I didn’t see them on Saturday. I also did not see any of them on Sunday,” the landlord told journalists.
He continued: “My junior brother called me this afternoon while I was at work to intimate me that something was happening at my house, so I rushed down here. I am in shock.”
One of the neighbour who saw the bodies when the police arrived to evacuate them said they were lying down on the floor which suggested that the family might have been watching television and perhaps slept off in the process, leaving the television and generator on.
The Police Public Relations Officer, of the Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, who confirmed the incident, said the Police had evacuated the bodies and taken them to the mortuary for post morten examination.
“The speculation is that the family may have died from carbon monoxide which emanated from their generator. But that has not been scientifically proven. So, we are waiting for the autopsy report to make our findings,” the police image maker said.