FAMILY OF EIGHT AND FRIEND DIE MYSTERIOUSLY AFTER MOTHER'S BURIAL

Tragedy struck in Umuakuru village,Emekuku,Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State as nine persons,including eight members of the same family,died in their sleep under mysterious circumstances on Saturday night after the burial of their mother and grandmother.

The tragedy has thrown the community into mourning as many villagers bemoaned the bizarre fate that has befallen the family.Those who died were Mr Paschal Njoku,who before his death lived in Port Harcourt,Rivers State,his wife,five children and his sister,Mrs Christiana Uba nee Njoku.Mrs Uba's friend,Mrs Catherine Ahunonu who came for the burial of her friend's mother also died.Click on read more below to continue....
According to sources,the nine were found with foam-like substances in their mouth,yesterday morning.Family sources said the bodies of the deceased were discovered when the owners of the canopies used at the funeral came to dismantle them in the morning.The owners of the canopies had gone to the house of the deceased to inform them they had come to move their canopies.
But none of the family members responded to their greetings or the knocks on their doors.

The pervasive silence around the deceased home aroused the curiosity of the people,leading them to force open one of the doors in the compound.Sources say there was no generator on.Imo state commissioner of Health,Dr Joe Obi-Njoku who visited the scene,stated that it could be a case of food poisoning,stressing that if they all ate some poisoned food,they would die together.He contended that only an autopsy could ascertain the true cause of deaths.