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One dead, eight sickened in apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in Cleveland -police

by Reuters
Saturday, 5 April 2014 20:02 GMT

By Kim Palmer

April 5 (Reuters) - The cause of a carbon monoxide leak near Cleveland was under investigation on Saturday, a day after an elderly woman was found dead and eight people were taken to hospital from an apartment building where deadly levels of the gas were detected, police said.

The poisoning occurred in a 278-unit apartment building in East Cleveland, part of metropolitan Cleveland, on Friday evening. As police evacuated the building they discovered the body of 79-year-old Barbara Kelley in one of the apartments, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's office.

The official cause of death for Kelley has not been determined, but the East Cleveland fire department found "deadly levels of carbon monoxide in certain pockets of the building," said Lt. William Mitchell, spokesman for the East Cleveland police.

Six adults between the ages of 31 and 76 and two children were hospitalized at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. Two of the adults were in critical condition on Saturday and the remaining four were in stable condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.

Two children, ages 3 and 15, were treated and released, according to hospital spokeswoman Janice Guhl.

The cause of the leak has not yet been determined and is being investigated by the East Cleveland Fire Department and an "outside" agency, according to Mitchell. (Reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland; Editing by Carey Gillam and Dan Grebler)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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