Four dead of gas inhalation during weekend

AMMAN — Two people died on Saturday of gas inhalation from a heater inside their home in Mafraq, according to the CivilDefence Department (CDD).

Mafraq CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured be-fore transferring them to hospital where they were pronounced dead. A source from the CDD's media department told The Jordan Times that the deceased were a newlywed couple.

"The deceased were a 25-year-old groom and his 23-year-old bride," the source said, adding that they were Jordanian. On Thursday, the CDD said two Syrians died of gas inhalation from a heater in their house in Ramtha, some 90km north of Amman.

The CDD urged the public to be careful when dealing with different kinds of heaters and not to sleep while they are on to avoid such incidents. In remarks to The Jordan Times earlier this month, CDD Media Di-rector Brig. Gen. Farid Sharaa said 23 people died and 307 were injured around Jordan last winter due to heater-related incidents.

He urged the public not to keep kerosene and gas heaters on for long periods, to ventilate their homes, and to make sure the hose connected to the gas cylinder is attached correctly and is not worn out. Sharaa stressed the importance of not relying on children to re-place gas cylinders and of keeping the heaters away from small rooms, such as kitchens and bedrooms, noting that the stairwell is the best area to place them.