Two baby triplets have tragically died in their sleep. There are claims their deaths were caused by accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
Single mother Sarah Owens, 29, sadly found two of her five-month-old boys not breathing when she checked on them.
Paramedics rushed to the rented home in Bridgend, South Wales at 10.05am and took the triplets to hospital where two – Charlie and Noah – were pronounced dead.
The third triplet, Ethan, was unharmed.
It was initially claimed that the boys died from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, possibly from a faulty heater.
However, neighbours were told by the boys’ grandfather – who came to the house to collect possessions – that this had been ruled out.
Police are now investigating the cause of the tragic accident and refused to comment to media. The boys’ godmother Siobahn Boyd has set up a justgiving page to raise money for Ms Owens. She wrote: ‘Sadly this morning two of my beautiful godsons passed away. I’m trying to raise money for their mother.
‘If anybody would like to help hopefully we can raise enough to take the financial stress off Sarah at this difficult time thank you all for reading xxx’.
Neighbour Anne Way, 64, saw the paramedics at the house. She said: ‘It was awful, I saw a firemen carrying one of the babies out in his arms.’They worked on the other one in the ambulance but there was nothing they could do.’
Way said that the babies’ single mother had taken them for a check-up on Friday at the local clinic.
She said: ‘They were born premature because they were triplets but they were all doing so well.
‘Their mother doted on them, she is a lovely girl and a good mother who gets lots of help from her parents.
‘They were beautiful little boys and coming along well.’
Way said the babies’ grandfather had been back to the three-bedroom house after the tragedy. She said: ‘He told me they had ruled out carbon monoxide. They don’t know what caused it.
‘They are carrying out tests and having post-mortems, it’s just dreadful.’
Owens had reportedly moved into the privately rented house 10 weeks ago but was due to leave next month because it was sold by her landlord.
She was living with her parents when the triplets were born in April and was expected to move back in with them.
Police, who mentioned that the deaths were being treated as a ‘tragic accident’, would not comment on the theory the infants died from by carbon monoxide poisoning from a heating system in the house. A South Wales Police spokesman said:
‘At 10.05am emergency services attended an address in the Wildmill area of Bridgend to a report of two young children, two of triplets, who were found not breathing.
‘The five-month-old children were conveyed to hospital where tragically they were later pronounced deceased.
There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths which are being treated as a tragic accident.’
Officers are currently not releasing other details of the tragedy as the family were being comforted over the two deaths.
A police source said: ‘This is a particularly sensitive incident, which is still ongoing.’
The South Wales Fire Service declined to comment on their role in the tragedy.
A Home Office pathologist has reportedly been called in to carry out a post-mortem examination on the two babies.
A file is due to be prepared for Glamorgan coroner Andrew Barkley and an inquest is expected to be opened next week. The Welsh Ambulance Service have confirmed that they sent three emergency ambulances to the scene as well as one ambulance car.