A mother and son have died in a house they were staying in at Jenda Trading Centre in Mzimba from what authorities say was carbon monoxide poisoning, while another son is receiving treatment at Jenda Rural Hospital.

Jenda Police publicist, Macfarlen Mseteka said the mother, Zione Goodson, woke up early as usual to cook cassava on Wednesday, to sell at a nearby school. However, carbon monoxide from a charcoal stove filled the room and all three suffocated.

“Around midday, neighbours noticed that they were nowhere to be seen and when they opened the house, they found one son alive but unconscious while the mother and her first son were in a nonresponsive state,” said Mseteka.

According to police, the house lacked proper ventilation, with only a door and a small window, both of which were closed at the time.