A family in Spain has been wiped out after being poisoned by carbon monoxide during the historic blackout, it has emerged.
The elderly couple and their son were found dead inside their home in Taboadela, Ourense, in the northernmost region of Galicia.
The Guardia Civil are investigating whether a generator the family were using during Monday’s power outage was the emitter of the toxic gas.
The generator was used to supply power to a medical ventilator used by one of the parents, who required assistance to breathe.
Sources close to the investigation said a couple aged 81 and 77 were found dead on Tuesday morning alongside their 56-year-old son.
Initial investigations suggest the carbon monoxide came from the generator situated underneath the home.
It is believed that improper combustion of the generator produced the carbon monoxide, which then spread throughout the house from outside.
Meanwhile, according to Galician MP David Calvo, another case of carbon monoxide poisoning was detected in Rianxo (A Coruña).
The couple luckily managed to raise the alarm and were taken to their local hospital for treatment.
The Xunta de Galicia (regional government) has also reported the deaths of three further people during the blackout due to ‘various circumstances’.
This includes a 59-year-old man, with various medical conditions, who was found dead in Ferrol by his niece when she went to look for him at his home.
Elsewhere, an 80-year-old man in Betanzos, also in the province of A Coruña, was left in good condition by his caregiver at night and found dead in the morning.
In addition, an 86-year-old man who lived with his wife in Dumbría (A Coruña) died on Tuesday morning, although the cause of death remains unknown.
