Man woke in Regina hospital to learn son, 11, died from carbon monoxide leak

REGINA – From his Regina hospital bed, Sergio Losco remembers his 11-year-old son as a brilliant and kind child with a penchant for soccer. 

Losco spoke fondly about his boy, Henry, in a phone interview from Regina General Hospital’s intensive care unit. He’s recovering from a lung infection after he and his son were found unconscious from a carbon monoxide leak in their downtown Regina apartment.

Henry was declared dead at the scene. Sergio said the coroner confirmed the boy died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

They moved to Canada from Italy when Henry was six, living in places like New Brunswick and Whistler, B.C., before landing in Newfoundland and eventually Regina.

Losco said Henry left a piece of his heart in every region where they lived.

“He was happy to meet new people, to see new places, to learn new things. He was able to make everybody happy around him,” said Losco.

He said his son was a burgeoning chess competitor, played the trumpet and was a soccer goalkeeper, though he was also the “soul of his team,” said his father.

Losco sobbed as he recalled seeing his son move from netminder to striker in his last game of the 2024 season in Newfoundland, hoping to end the year with a goal. And he did.

The celebration was memorable, said Losco.

He said the family moved to Regina at the beginning of December because his wife had a new career opportunity.

In the days after the move, Losco said they experienced different mild symptoms, including tiredness and headaches. They chalked it up to pressure changes from moving to the Prairies from the East Coast.

Losco said he and his son were home Friday when his wife, Marina Hills, returned from work and found them both unresponsive. 

Losco was on the floor, covered in vomit with bloodshot eyes, struggling to breathe, he said, and Hills pulled him into the hallway.

Henry was in his bed and his mother attempted to resuscitate him while yelling for help until someone called 911.

Losco said he last remembered trying to grab medication and water for his son, who appeared ill. He doesn’t remember a carbon monoxide alarm going off, although officials said the building has such alarms. 

Losco said he woke up later that evening in the hospital, where he learned his son didn’t survive.

Fire Chief Layne Jackson told reporters Monday that firefighters learned shortly after arriving on scene that there were “dangerous levels” of carbon monoxide in the apartment building. The hazmat team was also called in and the building was evacuated. 

Jackson said investigators linked the carbon monoxide leak to ongoing mechanical work happening on site but are still considering what initiated the leak.

Residents were cleared to return to the building on Saturday.

Hills has been staying in a hotel, Losco said.

“We don’t want to go back there,” he said in between sobs. “Our son was killed there.”

He thanked those who have supported the family, including with donations on a fundraising page, as they deal with their son’s death, funeral costs and rebounding from the move to Saskatchewan.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2025.