As a result of using crude heaters emitting dangerous fumes due to the freezing weather, at least 17 people have died in Algeria from carbon monoxide poisoning, according to emergency services.
The civil defense organization announced on its Facebook page that nine members of the same family; a couple, their five children, and two relatives had been discovered at their residence in Bou Saada, a city about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Algiers.
A couple and their four children were also discovered dead in the northern province of Setif, the defense organization added, having likely inhaled harmful fumes from their heater.
Two other people suffocated in the northwestern city of Mostaganem, the service added.
Carbon monoxide poisoning was said to be the cause of all deaths.
People in North Africa have recently been pushed to utilize heaters that burn liquid or natural gas and produce carbon monoxide, an odorless and potentially fatal gas.
The emergency services in Algeria issued a warning that carbon monoxide poisoning, and death could result from “lack of ventilation, poor assembly (of heaters), lack of maintenance, or the use of devices not intended for heating”.
Author-Roberta Appiah
