Couple die in sleep from apparent CO2 poisoning

A man and a woman died in their sleep from possible carbon-dioxide poisoning on Saturday, Magen David Adom medics said.

Abed Husri, 40, and his partner, Atef Husri, 35, from the town of Jdeide-Makr, near Acre, most likely died because they left their charcoal oven burning overnight, MDA said.

Media reports said the couple’s three children had played outside the house, and when their grandfather asked where their parents were, the children said they were still asleep.

The grandfather, who found the couple, called MDA and police, who determined their deaths at the scene.

The children had slept at their grandparents’ house.

“This is an unbelievable tragedy,” Jdeide-Makr Regional Council head Sohail Malham told Ynet. “We are still looking into the circumstances, but this is a heart-breaking disaster.”

CO2 poisoning from the use of kerosene stoves or coalbased heating devices can be lethal. Symptoms of poisoning include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weakness and generally feeling poorly.