Three guards suffocate in a generator room at a Nairobi supermarket

NAIROBI: Three people were found dead in a generator room in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums, Nairobi after a suspected suffocation.

Police and locals suspect the three who were guards at a supermarket suffocated after inhaling gas emitted from the generator.

The generator was running when they went to seek refuge in the room on Saturday night over apparent cold.

"We suspect they choked there because the generator emits some carbon monoxide gas. We are investigating the incident," said Embakasi OCPD Apolo Wanyonyi.

Wanyonyi said the owner of the building had turned it into a mini-supermarket. He added on Saturday night, there was a blackout in the area that forced the management to turn on the generator.

It was then that the guards went to the room to rest and failed to wake up. They were found by their colleagues who were to take over the day's shift Sunday.

"Their lifeless bodies were found in the room as the generator ran. They probably suffocated," said Wanyonyi.

The bodies were later removed from the scene and taken to the mortuary as investigations were launched.

Police say they fear such cases may rise as the cold season starts in the city.

"We urge the residents to be careful whenever they use jikos to warm themselves. The cold season is approaching," said Wanyonyi.

He said such cases have been reported in the past in the city.