Power Outage in Sumatra Leaves Four Dead

Seven residents were reported as victims in two separate incidents in North Sumatra Province (Sumut) and West Sumatra Province (Sumbar) during power outages across Sumatra. Of the seven victims, four died and three are receiving medical treatment in hospitals. In Batubara Regency, North Sumatra, two employees of a mobile phone accessory shop were found dead inside a shophouse on Saturday (23/5). They are suspected to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a generator used during the widespread blackout across North Sumatra. Air Putih Police Chief AKP Rahmat R Hutagaol stated the tragedy occurred at Indrapura ACC shophouse in Area III, Indrapura Village, Air Putih Subdistrict, Batubara Regency. The incident was first discovered around 12:30 PM WIB when colleagues arrived to open the shop. “However, upon arrival, the shophouse was tightly closed with no response from inside,” Rahmat said on Sunday (24/5). According to him, colleagues tried calling the occupants but received no reply. Suspecting no activity inside, the shop supervisor then requested assistance from locals to forcibly open the shophouse door. “After the door was opened, four people were found inside the room in a dire state. Two victims were confirmed dead, while the other two were unconscious,” he said. The deceased victims were identified as RR (24), a resident of Tebing Tinggi City, and AA (22), from Serdang Bedagai Regency. The two survivors, M (22) and DCA (17), were immediately taken to Bidadari Regional Hospital for medical treatment. “All four victims have been evacuated to Bidadari Regional Hospital. Authorities are currently investigating to determine the exact cause, though initial suspicions point to carbon monoxide poisoning from generator use during the power outage,” Rahmat explained. Two Youths Die in West Sumatra In addition to North Sumatra, three teenagers in X Koto Subdistrict, Tanah Datar Regency, West Sumatra, were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a mosque generator during the power outage. Two died and one remains in critical condition after being hospitalised. The deceased victims were identified as GA (15) and HAK (15), while the critical case, H (16), continues intensive care at hospital. All three are students from different schools. “After the power went out, the children gathered and played. With their phone batteries depleted, they asked to turn on the generator,” said X Kota Police Chief Iptu Martheriko, as reported by Detikcom on Saturday (23/5). The incident occurred on Friday (22/5) at 6:40 PM WIB. A group of local teenagers requested permission to activate the generator in the mosque’s secretariat room to charge their mobile phones around 9:00 PM WIB. Martheriko explained five people initially gathered in the room, but two left while the three victims decided to sleep in the mosque’s back room with the door tightly closed and no ventilation. “The generator was operated in a sealed, unventilated space. Carbon monoxide is odourless and colourless, so the victims were unaware of the danger,” he said. The three victims were discovered unconscious on Saturday (23/5) morning at approximately 5:30 AM by the mother of one victim attempting to wake them. Upon discovering the situation, locals immediately evacuated the victims to Ibnu Sina Yarsi Islamic Hospital in Padang Panjang. Prior to this, a widespread power outage affected several areas in North Sumatra since Friday (22/5), disrupting daily activities from households and offices to public transportation services across multiple regions.