Mother dies, two kids sickened by CO poisoning at Hsinchu campground

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) A mother has died and her two daughters are receiving medical treatment after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning at a Hsinchu County campground Sunday, in an incident that is still being investigated, local authorities said.

The Hsinchu County Fire Department said it received a call at around 2 p.m. Sunday about a suspected poisoning at the campground in a mountainous area of Jianshi Township.

Upon arriving at the scene, emergency responders found a woman, a 40-year-old resident of Taoyuan's Longtan District surnamed Luo (羅), dead inside a tent.

Her two daughters, aged 12, were taken by ambulance to hospital, where they both regained consciousness, the fire bureau said.

According to Hsinchu police, initial suspicions were raised after the family failed to come out for breakfast on Sunday morning and then missed the 12 p.m. check-out time.

When the campground's owner opened the tent to check on them, he found all three unconscious and immediately called an ambulance, police said.

In its statement Sunday, the fire bureau speculated that the family may have taken a coal fire inside their tent for warmth due to the low nighttime temperatures.

However, it said it had referred the matter to police and prosecutors to investigate what exactly had happened.

On Monday, the Hsinchu County government said its Social Affairs Department had dispatched personnel to visit the girls in the hospital to see what assistance they could provide.