140 people were hospitalized in Herat, Afghanistan, for carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a report.
According to authorities, at least 140 individuals were hospitalised in Herat province on Tuesday due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Amongst those hospitalised, there are numerous children and women.
Residents in Herat remarked that gas is their only alternative for heating their houses during the hard winters because firewood and other basic necessities are too expensive in the nation.
“My family switched on the heat since it was cold. If I had come five minutes late, I would have lost 21 members of my family”,said Abdul Qadir, a Herat resident who accompanied his family to the province’s regional hospital. “In the last 24 hours, 130 to 140 people have been taken to the hospital’s emergency department”,said the hospital’s director, Ahmad Farhad Afzali, according to TOLO news.
A rapid drop in temperature has significantly impacted residents in the troubled country, who are already suffering from poverty, a shortage of food, and a lack of gasoline. According to TOLO news, over 16 people have died as a result of the cold across four regions.”We don’t have power, so we have to rely on gas. So far, two of my family members have perished as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning”,said Shakila, a Herat native.
This comes as some families burn coal to heat their houses, causing carbon monoxide poisoning in the process. Since the Taliban took power, Afghanistan has been in a state of economic and humanitarian disaster. Despite help, poverty, starvation, and unemployment remain widespread in Afghanistan.
Natural calamities have compounded the situation for Afghans, who are facing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in the country’s history.
