Alexander Yakunin and his two children (Image: VK.com)A little girl and her baby brother have been found alive in their flat three days after their parents had ‘died from eating poisoned pickles’.
Worried relatives could not reach Alexander and Viktoria Yakunin, who have been described as the “perfect couple”.
They missed a family gathering and eventually their five-year-old daughter answered the phone.
The child said her dad, 30, and mum, 25, were “sleeping” for a long time and added that her dad had "turned all black".
The girl was looking after her one-year-old brother.
Alexander's sister Natalia Bakulina, 36, rushed to the flat in the Leningrad area of Russia and her niece opened the door.
Natalia called the police and emergency services, then dressed the children and took them out of the flat in Bolshoye Kuzyomkino village.
News outlet 78.ru said that food poisoning is suspected as the cause of the deaths.
Gas plant worker Alexander had been given a jar of homemade pickles by his grandmother the day before.
It is suspected that botulinum toxin from the pickles is the cause of death.
The toxin causes paralysis and even death through respiratory failure.
Neighbour Mikhail Khomchenko ruled out alcohol poisoning, saying the couple did not drink.
“I have only positive feelings about them,” he said, stressing they were a "perfect couple”.
The children are now being cared for by Alexander’s father.
