As a Fort McMurray family laid their youngest child to rest in Edmonton Thursday – it was confirmed that a second child, a toddler, had died in hospital.
Over the weekend, five children and their mother were rushed to hospital after a reported chemical spill in their Fort McMurray apartment.
A short time later, it was reported the family’s 8-month-old daughter had died, while the four other children were still being treated: two in Fort McMurray and the other two were taken to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. Their mother was also admitted to hospital in Fort McMurray for observation.
“The family is devastated,” Fort McMurray MLA Mike Allen said. “No parent should have to bury their child, such a tiny little casket.”
Officials later determined the family had been exposed to the dangerous pesticide phosphine, which had been used by the mother in an attempt to kill off bed bugs inside their suite on Tuesday, February 17.
It’s believed the exposure came after the mother vacuumed the pesticide pellets, releasing the chemical.
The insecticide had been brought back to Canada from Pakistan, where the family had recently travelled.
The funeral for the youngest child was held in Edmonton on Thursday.
Two of the children were released from a Fort McMurray hospital Wednesday, and the three travelled to Edmonton to join the other two children and their father.
CTV News learned Thursday that the family’s 2-year-old son, who was at last word on a ventilator at the Stollery, had died. His 6-year-old brother remains in hospital.
The two deaths are weighing heavily on Fort McMurray residents – and officials told CTV News grief counsellors will be present at the school where two of the children attend.
The students will be returning from a week off.
“We will try our best to make them understand, it’s tough, it’s not easy but we will try our best to make them understand that life has to end one day,” Taj Mohammed, the principal at the Fort McMurray Islamic School said.
With files from Brenna Rose
