Mittal Steel Employee Discovered Dead

An employee of steel giant Mittal Steel has been discovered dead in his flat in Buchannan, Grand Bassa County, with family members claiming a foul play. The victim, Joseph Sumo, 44, was discovered dead in his kitchen last Friday morning by his son, Emmanuel Sumo, 15. Joseph, a Locomotive driver of the Indian steel company was found dead, his body stiff with his fist clenched.

The exact cause of death is yet unknown. Hospital sources in the absence of pathology text told this paper that the cause of death was carbon monoxide,(smoke from generator), but relative said the smell of formaldehyde, the embalming fluid used to preserved dead bodies took over the entire apartment, with other family members suffering from numbness.

Joseph’s girl friend, only identified as Alice was also discovered speechless with her entire body numb, while Emmanuel, his little sister and another occupant experienced numbness in some parts of their bodies. Joseph was an occupant of on the first floor of a two-bed room flat in Buchannan. The police are yet to make any arrest.

However, the victim’s son said on Friday night, his father had ordered a neighbor called Dickson to connect wires in his house, after which they put on their generator and they all gathered in the living room to view a movie.

But from all indications, it appeared that the generator was never switched off during bed time, as Emmanuel had disclosed how he and his little sister Joy all woke up helpless the next morning feeling numbness in their bodies.

He said their father girlfriend, Alice was also discovered lying unconsciously in bed just as their father and did not wake up despite all the shouting and knocking they carried out to wake her up from bed. He added that the lady could not even hear all their shouting to the extent that they had to call neighbors around for rescue that morning to rush her to the hospital.

On the other hand, Emmanuel told this paper that some of their house mates from up stairs admitted hearing noise like somebody fighting in the house where the incident occurred during the night, but thought the victim and his wife were fighting, so they never bothered to interfere.

However, he said when he got up in the morning to prepare hot water for their father, he found it difficult to open the kitchen door, and he called his sister to join him open it. He said it was at that the victim dropped behind the kitchen door after he and his sister had pushed it.

Emmanuel said he and his sister began shouting and calling people to come to their rescue, because they did not know what was happening to their parents.

“She was sleeping, I knocked her but she couldn’t get up; I shouted in her ears, but she couldn’t get up. I called the people and gave them the key, they put her in the car and we carried her to the government hospital. Then I said oh but your come take our pa your carry him to the hospital before he die. The people said no, but when the government comes they will check the body,” the boy narrated.