RIYADH, 28 June 2007 — A six-member Pakistani family — a father, mother and four children — were found dead in a house in the Salehiya district here under mysterious circumstances. The police traced the bodies 48 hours after their death following complaints from the neighbors of stench from the ill-fated house on Monday.
Confirming the tragedy, Waqar Ahmad, labor welfare attache at the Pakistani Embassy here, told Arab News that the police team in Batha is investigating the matter and security officials are awaiting the toxicology results and the full postmortem report to ascertain the cause of death. The investigations are being held under the command of district police chief Abdullah Al-Shamrani.
The police sealed the house following the preliminary onsite inquest and the remains have been transferred to the city morgue. The embassy official ruled out foul play, but added that a complete probe would reveal the real reasons behind the tragedy.
The deceased included Riaz Hussein, 46, father; Uzma, 35, mother; Juwairia, 11, daughter; Muneeba, 10, daughter; Mubeen, 9, son; and Abdullah, 5, son. Hussein’s eldest daughter, 14, from his first wife, escaped the tragedy since she was in Pakistan for summer vacation.
According to sources, the father had been working as a freelance salesman in Riyadh for the past seven years.
“He was earning for his day-to-day living,” they said, pointing out that he was finding it difficult to maintain his large family with his meager income. Hussein was the sole breadwinner of the family with his four children attending the Pakistan International School in Nasseria district.
Initial investigations have revealed that the family members had sprayed the whole house with pesticide against rats. It is suspected that the inmates either inhaled the poisonous fumes or consumed contaminated food. Doctors say that some pesticide contains cyanide and even gas leak from cylinders could be fatal.
Abdul Ghafour, one of the close relatives of the deceased, said: “After fumigating the house, the entire family had gone to Al-Kharj, 80 miles away from the capital, until the house was free from poisonous fumes.”
They told the people whom they visited in Al-Kharj that they disinfected the house and they were to return home after a lapse of five hours after the fumes settle down. The family had gone to Al-Kharj on Thursday and returned the same evening.
According to neighbors, the deceased Hussein was last seen outside his house on Friday morning complaining of discomfort and body pain.
The children’s Qur’anic teacher had gone to the house and found the main door locked on Saturday. The teacher grew suspicious when he encountered the same situation the next day.
