A 61-year-old woman has died and two family members were hospitalised on Thursday following suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a home in Monte Gordo, in the Algarve municipality of Vila Real de Santo António.
According to Jornal de Notícias, the victims are a married American couple and their 35-year-old daughter.
The tragic incident occurred at their holiday home in the Algarve, where they regularly spend time despite living most of the year in the US, the newspaper reports. It is believed to have been caused by a faulty water heater, with initial inspections pointing to a carbon monoxide leak from the appliance.
JN adds that it was a neighbour – who reportedly holds a key to the house because of the family’s frequent absences – who raised the alarm. After becoming concerned that she had not seen them and receiving no answer at the door, she entered the home and found the three victims inside.
Authorities were called to the scene at 12.41pm. Emergency teams treated the victims at the scene, but the mother did not survive. Her death was declared shortly afterwards.
The other two victims – the 67-year-old husband and the couple’s daughter – were first taken to the Basic Emergency Unit in Vila Real de Santo António and later transferred to Faro Hospital.
Firefighters from Vila Real de Santo António and Castro Marim responded to the incident, along with Tavira’s sapadores firefighters and INEM emergency services. GNR police were also dispatched to the property with patrol officers and criminal investigation teams.
