Two days after paramedics responding to a distress call at a First Nation community in Alberta discovered a four-month-old girl dead in her crib and rushed 14 members of her immediate family to hospital with flu-like symptoms, provincial authorities remain tight-lipped about what might have caused the tragedy.
A two-year-old girl remains in serious but stable condition, officials said.
Fifteen people were in the house, at the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, about 55 km west of Calgary, at the time of the emergency call, including two parents and their 13 children, two of which are over the age of 18.
Police initially said 14 were sent to hospital, but two of those were adults accompanying ill family members and were not admitted, according to Emergency Medical Services.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) said Wednesday that all the individuals had “influenza-type symptoms,” but would not say whether there were any public health concerns when asked on Thursday.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday, April 6
Rob Lahache, the CEO of the Wesley First Nation, one of three bands that make up the Stoney, told CBC News the community is in shock.
“It affects every family out here, it affects every member of our staff” he said. “Any tragedy in a tightly knit community has ripple effects that just keep resounding back and forth through the community.”
One of the hardest things is that the community still has no answers about what happened, Lahache added.
“That leaves the mind to wonder,” he said. “We want to know what’s going on.”
With files from CBC News
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