Met says poisonous gas may have killed pair at Edgware house as five others sent to hospital

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old



Two men have been found dead at a house in London after suspected carbon monoxide poisoning and five other people are being treated in hospital.

The deaths were being treated as unexplained but police said they believed that possibly there had been a carbon monoxide leak at the address in Bacon Lane, Edgware, north London.

Officers in Harrow were called to the property at about 1.30pm on Sunday following reports of two men, believed to be aged 38 and 42, who were described as unresponsive.

The London ambulance service also attended the multiple occupancy building.

The London fire brigade said its units rushed to the scene at 1.42pm.

Two men, a woman, a young boy and a male infant were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning and taken to hospital by ambulance as a precaution, the Metropolitan police said. People were also evacuated from a neighbouring house but later allowed to return home.

The deaths are believed to have been caused by a faulty boiler.

Scotland Yard said no arrests have been made. A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “These deaths are being treated as unexplained. A postmortem examination will be held in due course. Police in Harrow continue to [work] alongside the Health and Safety Executive, who have been informed.”

One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s really shocking, very sad, the loss of life. It doesn’t matter how it happens, but it’s really sad.

“It’s a rented property. I know the owner, I’ve met him. He was renovating just after Christmas.”

Another neighbour said the residents had only been living in the house for three to four weeks. “They are fairly new. As far as I know they’re very quiet,” he said.

There were 53 deaths from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning in England and Wales in 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.



In the UK, carbon monoxide poisoning in the home accounts for an average of 50 recorded deaths a year and up to 4,000 medical visits, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.