Parents, son killed by coal poisoning in HCMC

Four members in the family were found unconscious inside their apartment in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward of Thu Duc City by their neighbors.

As the family usually got up early in the morning, with the parents selling goods at Tan Dinh Market in District 1, their neighbors found it unsual that their apartment remained close at 6 a.m. and no one answered the door.

After smashing the door, the neighbors reported the situation to local police and took all four people to hospital but the father Luong Van Kien, 45, his wife, 44, and their 16-year-old son did not survive.

The daughter, 23, is still under treatment at Cho Ray Hospital in District 5.

The family had migrated from the central Ninh Thuan Province and stayed in HCMC for five years now.

Nguyen Van Cuong, a neighbor, said Kien and his wife made a living by steaming fish at night and selling them at the market the next morning.

The couple used a charcoal stove to steam the fish and placed the stove right in front of their apartment, which is equipped with air conditioning, according to the police.

A preliminary investigation said they might have died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

The charcoal stove that Luong Van Kien and his wife used to steam fish is placed in front of their rented apartment in Thu Duc City, May 18, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van

According to health experts, when heating or cooking is done in an enclosed space, oxygen will gradually be consumed. The combustion reaction in the absence of oxygen will form more and more CO gas.

CO has no smell and color and is very difficult to detect. When someone inhales it, CO quickly penetrates the blood and reduces oxygen levels in the blood, causing that person headaches, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, and confusion.

People who inhale large amounts of CO can pass out and die very quickly, especially pregnant women, young children, the elderly with chronic heart disease and lung disease.