15 teachers hospitalized for inhaling carbon monoxide

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte—At least 15 teachers from Catbalogan City in Samar were taken to a hospital on Wednesday after they were overcome by carbon monoxide from a generator set installed at the door of a two-story building of the City Schools Division Office.

Eliot Lopez, city disaster risk reduction management officer, said the teachers were holding a seminar on the second floor of the building when they felt ill.

“The victims complained of chest pains, physical malaise and difficulty in breathing. Some of them collapsed,” he told the Inquirer in an interview over his mobile phone.

Among those brought to Samar Provincial Hospital, also in Catbalogan, was Editha de Veyra, the local superintendent of schools.

A brownout occurred in Catbalogan, located about 110 km from Tacloban City, past 6 a.m. on Wednesday. Power was restored past noon.

The generator set at the City Schools Division Office building was used since the teachers were scheduled to hold their seminar on the second floor about 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

The generator set was installed at the door of the building, which was left open.

The fumes from the generator set traveled to the second floor, suffocating the teachers.

About 10 a.m., the teachers started to complain that they were not feeling well.

The rescue group of the Catbalogan City government immediately brought the teachers to the Samar Provincial Hospital, about 700 meters away from the City Division Office building.

Lopez said nine teachers were discharged from the hospital while six others were still confined but were declared out of danger.