Dubai tenant turns on electricity generator, kills woman and her dog
Carbon monoxide fumes from generator had reached room of deceased subtenant of villa
Dubai: A Dubai woman and her dog were found dead in a shared villa accommodation after inhalation of carbon monoxide gas.
A Dubai Police official said the main tenant of the villa, located in Al Barsha, had switched on an electricity generator after the power was cut due to violating municipality rules covering subletting of the villa to others.
The gas suffocated the woman and her dog while another subtenant survived.
Colonel Maki Salman, director of Crime Scene Department at Dubai Police, said his team responded to an emergency call about the death of the woman and her dog inside the villa.
“They were living in a small part of a villa rented by a tenant to other families. We suspected it was food poisoning as [another] woman [who survived the incident] confirmed they had dinner in a restaurant in Sharjah and fed the dog from the same food,” said Col Salman.
The investigation showed the woman and the dog suffocated from carbon monoxide.
“We noticed a covered electricity generator in the villa. The tenant used it after a power cut in the villa’s services as he had violated the rules of renting the villa to others.”
Gas reaches room
A specialised team turned on the generator and noticed the smoke filling the rooms and corridors all the way to the room of the deceased.
“The main tenant used the generator and the carbon monoxide reached the room. The victim and the dog died from inhaling the gas,” Col Salman added.
The second woman survived because she was staying far from the generator; however she still sustained some health issues as a result.
‘Silent killer’
Col Salman said the gas is known as the ‘silent killer’ as it has no colour or smell. “If a human inhales the gas for a long time in a closed area, then the gas reaches the blood and kills the human.”
He added that the specific danger posed by carbon monoxide is that red blood cells will absorb carbon monoxide and turn away oxygen.
“As a result, oxygen starvation inside the human body occurs, which will ultimately cause death,” he said.
The main tenant has been transferred to Dubai Public Prosecution to complete the investigation.
Col Salman urged community members to follow safety instructions for using generators and the importance of installing alarm devices inside the house.