Life-support woman dies after power cut

A NEW ZEALAND mother who needed an electric oxygen pump to breathe died after an energy company cut the power to her home due to an unpaid bill, her family said.

Police said they launched an investigation into the death of Folole Muliaga, 44, in the northern city of Auckland, which happened within two hours of state-owned company Mercury Energy cutting power to her house.

Mercury Energy’s general manager James Moulder said the company was devastated by the woman’s death and was conducting its own investigation to determine what happened.