Pesticide poisoning: Dead siblings laid to rest

The three siblings, whose death has been linked to Topstoxin, were on Thursday laid to rest in accordance with the Islamic law.

Family and sympathizers could not hide their tears and pain as the siblings were taken to their final resting place.

Mr Mustapha Issah, Father of the dead siblings, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), that the family prepared for the burial as soon as the hospital released the corpses to avoid any further delay.

However, the 37 Military Hospital is yet to conclude investigations into the cause of death of the little children, who were exposed to the agro-chemical, which contains aluminium–phosphide, as its active ingredient.

According to the Islamic law (Shariah), the body should be buried as soon as possible from the time of death but due to the alleged cause of death, the hospital delayed the burial process to enable it carry-out the autopsy.

The children; nine-month-old twin girls and their two-year-old brother, reportedly died, a number of hours after one of their parents had sprayed the agro-chemical in their room, on Friday, to ward-off insects.

The parents are said to have followed the labelling instructions, which instructed users to stay away from the fumigated area, for at least five hours after use.

It is suspected that they, however, reacted to the deadly substance prescribed for fumigation for the control of insects in stored grain, processed food and feeds.

The substance, also known as A1P, is used as a pesticide. Their parents also became ill, but they were discharged a day after they were admitted at the hospital.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drugs Authority, with the Ministry of Agriculture, are investigating the issues related to the marketing and distribution of the agro-chemical.