MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Four people die in Spain amid mass blackout

All four cases were linked to people with pulmonary conditions and the use of respirators

At least four people were reported to have died as a consequence of the mass power outage that hit Spain Monday. In Ourense (Galicia), an elderly couple (81 and 77) and their son (56) died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a generator to power a respirator during the blackout. In Alzira, a 46-year-old woman with a pulmonary condition died when her artificial respirator lost power. The outage, described as historic by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, disrupted trains, elevators, traffic lights, and telecommunications. The cause of the blackout remains unknown.

In the case of the family tragedy, it happened because one of the adults needed a respirator, so, in view of the lack of energy, they decided to connect a generator to keep this device working. But the combustion emitted by this generator spread throughout the house, causing the death of the couple of 81 and 77 years old, and that of their son, 56 years old.

In the second case, a 46-year-old woman died in the Valencian city of Alzira. This was also a person who required an artificial respirator, which stopped functioning because of the power cut. Medical assistance arrived at her home, but resuscitation maneuvers were insufficient. She was pronounced dead of natural causes, given her preexisting pulmonary condition.