Two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a rented apartment in Shymkent, and three other people were hospitalized. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

The tragedy occurred in a multi-story building in the Vostok microdistrict. Two families — two adults and three children — were renting a first-floor apartment. One of them called relatives and, with their last strength, asked for help.

"I arrived, but when I entered, I was horrified. In the living room my sister was lying with her eyes open, she was unconscious. She was in a very bad state. Next to her, on the left side, lay her child. I thought he was sleeping. But her daughter was crying, she had convulsions," said Dilbar Saidkozhayeva, a relative of the victim.

Medics who arrived pronounced a four-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl dead. Three others were revived and sent to the hospital.

"The patients were diagnosed with toxic carbon monoxide poisoning of severe degree. Due to the severity of their condition, bypassing the admission ward, both patients were hospitalized in the intensive care unit," said Madina Yermakhanbetova, chief physician of the Shymkent Hyperbaric Oxygenation Center.

Currently, a 27-year-old woman and her three-year-old daughter remain under medical supervision. The girl is still in intensive care, while the mother has been transferred to a ward. The third survivor was sent home.

What exactly happened in the apartment has not yet been established. According to neighbors, the cause could have been an old gas water heater and a non-functioning exhaust pipe.

Gas workers have not yet confirmed this version. They reported that they conducted the necessary tests at the site and found no gas concentration. At the same time, specialists identified violations.

"This house — honestly, it is not intended for the installation of a water heater, gas, well, water heater. Accordingly, the installation of a gas water heater is considered a violation. But I cannot say that, for example, this is exactly why it happened," said Nurbek Rakhmanov, head of the production and technical department of the Shymkent branch of QazaqGaz Aimaq.

The apartment was sealed, and gas was cut off throughout the entire building. The causes of the incident will be investigated by police and experts.