Kavish Baldeo and Anban Pillay were friends for over 30 years.
Image: Supplied
TWO best friends, who road-tripped to Cape Town to attend a music festival, died from carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater they had used to keep warm while camping.
Kavish Baldeo, 44, a businessman of Queensburgh, and Anban Pillay, 48, a farmer of Tongaat, who were friends for over 30 years, left Durban on Thursday to attend the AfrikaBurn festival in Ceres, in the Western Cape.
“They were traveling with another friend who had a mobile home. They reached Ceres on Friday night and set up camp. But on Saturday morning, they were found dead inside their tent,” said Baldeo’s brother, Kavir Baldeo.
He said Baldeo and Pillay opted to set up their tent instead of sleeping in their friend’s mobile home, as they wanted to have the full experience of the outdoors.
Kavir said it was their first time at the festival, and they had set up at a campsite next to where the festival was being held.
“They had spent Friday night at the festival. They cooked and had a braai. It was about three degrees Celcius that night. My brother and Anban had carried a gas heater. They had it on and it must have leaked gas, which led to their deaths.
“On Saturday morning, their friend made coffee and took it to them, but there was no response. When he opened the camping tent, he could smell the gas.
“He called out to them, but they were unresponsive. They were supposed to spend the week in Cape Town, but they had only spent a night there,” Kavir added.
He said he travelled to Cape Town on Sunday to meet the police and identify his brother’s body.
“Ceres police told us that they had died of carbon monoxide poisoning, and a post-mortem had confirmed this.
“Their bodies were brought to Durban on Tuesday. We are struggling to come to terms with their deaths. It is still a shock to us.
“Kavish leaves behind his wife and two children, who are 15 and 13 years old. He was a happy person who loved camping and the outdoors. He was friendly and a people’s person.
“Kavish and Anban shared a special bond. They were close friends for over 30 years. Kavish was a businessman. Anban, who was a fruit and vegetable farmer in Tongaat, also loved the outdoors.
“There has been a lot of speculation regarding their deaths, and we urge people to refrain from spreading unverified information.
“We encourage people who use gas heaters, especially in the upcoming colder months, to be cautious of leaks.
“We advise people to switch off their heater before they sleep, and to remove it from the closed bedroom before they fall asleep, to avoid this tragedy,” Kavir added.
Lorraine Tanner, executive director at the AfrikaBurn organisation, which hosts the AfrikaBurn festival, said they were saddened to hear about the passing of Baldeo and Anban.
She said they were camping at a private campsite when they died.
“Our hearts go out to the friends and family, and anyone impacted. The festival was held at the Quaggafontein Farm, in the Tankwa Karoo, over seven days.
“It is attended by over 11,000 people who camp at the event, at the nearby campsite. This camp site is not on Quaggafontein Farm. It is a privately-owned premises approximately 22km from the event. The owners contacted us directly to notify us of the incident.
“While we were not privy to the exact circumstances surrounding their deaths, we encourage people to familiarise themselves with the equipment they are using when they are camping,” she said.
Dr Yaseen Bismilla, a forensic pathologist, said this was a “classic case” of carbon monoxide poisoning, which was prevalent in the winter months.
“Carbon monoxide is formed when something burning does not have enough oxygen to burn. If a gas heater burns without enough oxygen, it will give out carbon dioxide. When carbon monoxide enters the atmosphere, it binds to the haemoglobin in your body 200 more times than oxygen. This usually happens in closed, air tight spaces, such as tents and at braais,” he said.
Bismilla said carbon monoxide poisoning was a “silent killer” because it was completely odourless and killed “extremely fast”.
He said once a person inhaled carbon dioxide, they slipped into a coma very quickly.
“People do not have enough time or energy to save themselves. With a gas leak, you can smell it, but with carbon monoxide poisoning, the carbon monoxide hovers in the air silently. The person does not struggle or suffer any injuries. They silently slip into a coma. What is amazing is that during the autopsy, we see a cherry pink discolouration of the blood and skin.
“The person's organs, blood and brain all turn a beautiful cherry pink colour when one dies of carbon monoxide poisoning, which makes it easy to determine the cause of death. People can normally tolerate up to 5% of carbon monoxide in their bodies. After 5%, they become nauseous and lose consciousness slowly. They then slip into coma when levels reach over 40%."
He said gas and electrical heaters, braais, fires, gas stoves, and paraffin heaters are largely the causes of carbon monoxide poisoning in winter.