HARARE – A schoolgirl having sex choked to her death from toxic fumes of a generator, reports said on Monday.
The 16-year-old, named only as Daisy, was having a quickie with her boyfriend in a generator room at PamaStones Shopping Complex in Highfield when she became unconscious and died moments later, H-Metro reported.
Her boyfriend, a tuckshop attendant at the shopping centre, was rescued barely alive after he apparently fell on top of a power cable from the generator, knocking out power in a bar supplied by the generator.
Patrons raced to the generator room to get the power back up but found it locked, the newspaper reported.
“People had to break into the generator room and found the girl with no pulse, but the guy was alive and gasping for air,” a witness said.
The man, named only as John, was reportedly taken to a Harare hospital where he made a full recovery.
Generators are powering many homes in Zimbabwe as the country experiences some of the worst power cuts in history, sometimes lasting up to 18 hours per day.
While generators are now a power source of choice for most businesses, they are not to be used in a room with people because of the high levels of carbon monoxide they produce. One cannot see or smell the poisonous gas, but if you can smell the generator exhaust, it means you are breathing carbon monoxide – and death can come within minutes.
Daisy was in Form 3 pupil at Highfield High 1. Her family is reportedly refusing to bury her before John pays compensation.
