Carbon monoxide kills couple at Parma farmhouse, seven-month-old girl in serious condition

What happened

On Friday, 30 October, a man aged 35 and a woman aged 32 were found dead in a farmhouse at Bocca d'Enza, in the municipality of Mezzani in the province of Parma. The house sits on the outskirts of the hamlet, and reports describe the couple as husband and wife, presumably of African origin, who lived there with their children. Adnkronos reports that the bodies were found in the bedroom. Fanpage reports that firefighters wearing breathing apparatus brought them out of a building that was saturated with carbon monoxide, and that medical staff could only confirm both deaths at the scene. Carabinieri were also on the scene. Carbon monoxide poisoning is the probable cause according to the reports.

The children

The couple's seven-month-old daughter was found alive and airlifted to the Maggiore hospital in Parma. Fanpage reports that she was then moved to the hyperbaric centre at the Di Vaio hospital in Fidenza, where her condition is described as very serious. Adnkronos gives her prognosis as reserved. A six-year-old boy who was also in the house walked out of the building on his own and was taken to hospital, Fanpage reports. AGI reports that three other people, two of them in their twenties, suffered minor consequences.

Alarm and rescue

The alarm was raised after a relative contacted the emergency services, according to AGI. Firefighters, Carabinieri and 118 medical teams attended the scene. Medical staff from the 118 service took charge of the girl on site before she was transported. Fanpage says the air inside was unbreathable by the time the bodies were brought out. The Carabinieri and firefighters now have the task of reconstructing how the incident happened.

What investigators are examining

Reports differ on the likely source of the gas. ANSA, AGI, Rai and Fanpage each cite a possible malfunction of the stove in the farmhouse, and Fanpage adds that the stove was being used to heat the home overnight. Adnkronos instead points to a brazier left burning overnight in the room as the probable cause. Checks are still under way. First information gathered, according to AGI and Rai, showed no signs that the home was in a state of neglect.

Open questions

Several details rest on single reports or remain provisional. The brazier account from Adnkronos is the only one that differs from the stove hypothesis in the other reports. The description of the three other people who suffered consequences comes from AGI alone, and it gives no further detail. Later reports may revise the figures and the cause as the checks continue.