BULAWAYO – Three children died mysteriously on November 6 in Bulawayo, it is feared from carbon monoxide poisoning as they sat at the back of a family pick-up truck which got stuck in the mud.

The children, aged 10, six and two were passengers at the back of the single cab Nissan SE with a canopy which got stuck near Luveve Cemetery as the children returned from a lengthy school holiday in Nyamandlovu caused by the coronavirus.

Aquilla Moyo, 10, and Thelma, 6, were returning to Bulawayo for the opening of the third school term this week. They were in the back of the truck with their two-year-old sister, Shantel, while their father Aaron Moyo, 63, drove with their mother Thenjiwe, 45, also sat in the front.

Family spokesman Noel Dube told The Chronicle: “We have lost our children under very mysterious circumstances. Up to now we are at a loss for words as to what could have happened to them.”

Dube said after much revving to try and get the Nissan out of the mud, Moyo got out of the vehicle to find tree branches to use as a platform for the tyres to grip.

His wife, meanwhile, went to the back of the truck to check on the children but they were “all cold”.

Police said the incident is under investigation as postmortems are conducted.

A mechanic who spoke to The Chronicle said he feared the exhaust was leaking, sending deadly carbon monoxide into the back of the truck.

“If the exhaust pipe of the truck was not extended so that it protrudes at the back from under the truck, its fumes were getting inside the canopy,” he said.

“So, what could have happened is that when the car got stuck in the mud, the driver could have revved the car trying to get it out and by doing so it emitted a lot of smoke suffocating the children, particularly if the windows were left closed.”