3 Die in Limpopo Trying to Keep Warm Using 'Mbaula' in Suspected Fume Poisoning, SA Stunned: “Sad”
- Three young men died after they slept with a lit brazier to avert the cold overnight at Ga-Mothiba village in Limpopo
- Family members awoke early on Friday, 5 July, to find the trio unresponsive and immediately contacted the authorities
- Concerned citizens reacted to the news in shock online, blaming load shedding, among others, for the incident
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POLOKWANE — Three people died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning while using a lit brazier, or "mbaula", to warm a room in a house at Ga-Mothiba village, outside Polokwane in Limpopo, as they slept.
Alarmed family members awoke at dawn to discover the trio unresponsive and immediately contacted the authorities.
3 Die using 'mbaula' to keep warm
Police spokesperson Malesela Ledwaba said that it was alleged the deceased had lit charcoal inside a brazier and kept it burning as they slept.
Temperatures in Polokwane hovered between 11 and 12 degrees late on Thursday and dropped to between 5 and 8 degrees in the early hours of Friday.
“At about 05:00, on Friday, 5 July, their family found the three lying motionless. They immediately contacted the police and emergency medical personnel, who certified the boys dead at the scene,” Ledwaba said.
“Limpopo Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has warned the community from putting braziers inside the house [amid] the cold weather. She noted that inhaling the [smoke from] braziers is dangerous."
Briefly News understands the police are investigating an inquest.
Concern over brazier deaths
Citizens expressed concern over the deaths, cautioning against using braziers inside the house, while others blamed the incident on a lack of knowledge.
Briefly News takes a look at some reactions.
@SatyriasisKING wrote:
"'Mbaula' has killed so many people. People just don't want to learn. If you are using that thing to keep warm, open your windows (which will defeat the purpose of attempts to keep warm)."
@DocHassim said:
"Blame @Eskom_SA and municipalities for these kinds of incidents. They’ve made electricity so unaffordable [that] people resort to other desperate measures to find warmth."
@ChaleChipangura noted:
"[Such] sad news, indeed."
2 People die as fire tears through informal settlement
Two people died and seven others were displaced in a fire that tore through several shacks at the Nomzamo informal settlement in Strand, Western Cape.
The incident happened on Saturday, 29 June, after reports that a fire had engulfed a shack in Benox Street, 48km outside Cape Town.
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Source: Briefly News
