140 People Hospitalized for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Herat

Afghanistan: At least 140 people were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning in Herat province in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Officials said that many of the patients are children and women poisoned by carbon monoxide at home.

“Within the past 24 hours, 130 to 140 patients have been brought to the emergency ward of the hospital,” said Ahmad Farhad Afzali, head of the hospital.

Herat residents said that they are using gas as the only option to warm their homes.

“It was cold and my family turned on the gas. I would have lost 21 members of my family if I had arrived five minutes late,” said Abdul Qadir, a Herat resident who brought his family to the regional hospital in the province.

“We don’t have power, and we are forced to use the gas. So far, two of my family members have died of carbon monoxide poisoning,” said Shakila, a resident of Herat.

Doctors warned that negligence in the use of gas could be deadly for families.

“The negligence of families causes carbon monoxide poisoning and it causes devastating incidents,” said Mohammad Daud Hashimi, a doctor at the hospital.

Health officials said that the sudden fall in the temperature has increased the number of their patients.

“We have dismissed some of them who recovered and were in good condition,” said Abdul Sami Sadaat, an official of the hospital.

This comes as some families use coal for warming their homes which also causes carbon monoxide poisoning among people.