Fumes suffocate 20 DepEd workers

Meanwhile, in Catbalogan City in Samar, 20 employees of the Department of Education (DepEd) were hospitalized after they complained of chest pains due to fumes coming from a generator set on Wednesday.

Senior Inspector Norwyn Valenzuela, city deputy police chief, said among those hospitalized were the city school division supervisors, principals, teachers and personnel, who were attending a seminar at the city school division office on Del Rosario street in Barangay 4.

Valenzuela said the windows of the room where the seminar was being held were closed and electric fans connected to a generator set provide ventilation to the venue.

At about 11 a.m., the victims complained of chest pains, numbness and difficulty in breathing.

Gerarda Tizon, chief of the City Health Office, said 11 of the victims were confined at the Samar Provincial Hospital (SPH) while the nine others were sent home after receiving treatment.

Tizon said the victims were suffocated by the carbon monoxide emitted by the generator set.

Witnesses told police they saw smoke coming out of the generator, which went up to the room where the seminar was being held.

“The victims felt dizzy, uneasy and nauseous,” Valenzuela said quoting some employees. – With Ricky Bautista