‘Cover-up’ row as fire crew call for new probe into flood boy’s toxic gas death
FIREFIGHTERS have accused the Government of covering up the death of a seven- year- old schoolboy killed by toxic poisoning when his home was flooded.
Crews who recovered the body of tragic Zane Gbangbola have also joined a growing chorus of MPs and legal experts demanding an independent inquiry.
Coroner Richard Travers rejected evidence that Zane was poisoned by cyanide that seeped into the family home in Chertsey, Surrey, from a nearby former landfill site during storms in 2014.
Instead, he ruled Zane died after inhaling carbon monoxide gas from a petrol-powered pump hired by his parents to clear water from the basement.
His parents, who raised £70,000 to cover their costs for the inquest after being denied legal aid, insist the pump was not in use and that the authorities have lied about the true cause of their son’s death. The Mail on Sunday has been highlighting the case since 2014.
Now, the union representing firefighters who attended the scene has claimed crucial evidence was suppressed. Lee Belsten, secretary of the Fire Brigades Union i n Surrey, said: ‘It was our firefighters who detected hydrogen cyanide at the property and our members believe that the verdict of the coroner was highly questionable. We will expose the true events and hold to account those individuals and authorities who we believe lied and withheld crucial evidence.’
Mr Travers has been accused of failing to call key witnesses during the inquest in 2016 and of allowing evidence – including the minutes of a Government Cobra crisis meeting about Zane’s death – to be withheld.
The inquest heard how fire crews recorded readings for hydrogen cyanide inside the house and first responders detected no fumes from a petrol pump.
Experts from the Government’s defence research centre at Porton Down sealed off the property for weeks and 17 neighbours were sent for blood tests. And doctors said the paralysis suffered by Zane’s father, Kye, was caused by hydrogen cyanide poisoning.
But Mr Travers ruled on the ‘balance of probability’ that Zane had died from a carbon monoxide level of eight per cent in his blood and that the cyanide readings may have been oxides of nitrogen in exhaust fumes from fire engines.
Zane’s mother, Nicole, said: ‘We demand an independent panel inquiry to get to the truth.’
Mr Travers did not respond to a request for comment last night. Previously, a spokesman said: ‘All relevant and available evidence was called and considered.’
When the floods came, it wasn't a faulty pump that killed our son... it was deadly cyanide gas Officials knew FOUR years ago about toxic gas blamed for death of boy in floods