Three West Sumatra Teenagers Poisoned by Generator Smoke, Two Dead

Two victims, identified by the initials GA (15) and HAK (15), have passed away. Another victim, H (16), remains in critical condition and is currently receiving intensive care in hospital. All three individuals were students from different schools.

“When the power went out, these children gathered to play. Because their mobile phone batteries had run out, they asked for help to start the generator,” said the Chief of X Kota Police, Inspector Martheriko, on Saturday (23/5/2026).

The incident occurred on Friday (22/5) at 18:40 WIB. A group of local teenagers later requested permission to use a generator in the mosque’s secretariat room to charge their mobile phones at approximately 21:00 WIB.

Martheriko explained that there were initially five people gathered in the room. However, two of them chose to go home, while the three victims decided to sleep in the back room of the mosque, which was tightly closed without any ventilation.

“The generator was operated in a closed room without ventilation. Carbon monoxide gas is odourless and colourless, so the victims were unaware of the danger,” he stated.

The three victims were discovered unconscious on Saturday (23/5) morning at approximately 05:30 WIB by the mother of one of the victims, who had intended to wake them up. Upon discovering the situation, residents immediately evacuated the victims to the Ibnu Sina Yarsi Padang Panjang Islamic Hospital.