Bodies of six teens discovered in garden in Germany - Polidicks

[quote]The bodies of six teenagers were discovered in the Bavarian town of Arnstein on Sunday. According to police, the discovery was made by a concerned father who had been looking for his children. His daughter and his son were among those who died. Public prosecutors said the bodies of both men and women were found, and that all the dead were between the ages of 18 and 19. Their cause of death not yet clear, but after reporting that initial signs pointed to the youths having overdosed on an unknown substance, police later also suggested that carbon monoxide poisoning may have been the cause: There was a woodstove discovered in the shed, which had been used that evening, and authorities were reportedly looking at whether it was connected to the youths' deaths. "It remains unclear what led to the death of the six people, but police said there were no indications of any violent crime," said the police. Grim discovery The father told the police that the victims had held a small party in the shed the night before, and that he was prompted to look for them in the early morning upon realizing they had not returned home.[/quote] [url]http://www.dw.com/en/bodies-of-six-teens-discovered-in-garden-in-germany/a-37321698[/url] Seems like a freak accident or something.

That's pretty tragic.

Carbon monoxide's pretty dangerous, can't see it nor smell it.

BTW, as much as I hope none of you ever have to experience this yourself, there is a way to determine, by examining a corpse, whether Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a likely culprit, in which case you should get the hell out of dodge and inform emergency services of the risk. When a person has been dead for a few hours, the blood tends to get pulled down by gravity and settle at the lowest points of the body, making the underside of the body appear bruised and purple, while the skin above it is pale. This is an effect called lividity. I'm not sure exactly how the science works, but I was told by a retired Toronto Police detective that the [del]bloodless skin above the[/del] regions affected by lividity may appear bright pink if a person has died from CO poisoning. Is there anyone here who can confirm or elaborate on this?

I've always been pretty terrified of carbon monoxide poisoning. When I was a kid, an entire family a few doors down the street from us was killed by it. Dad, mom, a few kids. Don't remember the exact cause, but the fumes killed everybody in their sleep. Scary stuff.

[QUOTE=archangel125;51747843]BTW, as much as I hope none of you ever have to experience this yourself, there is a way to determine, by examining a corpse, whether Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a likely culprit, in which case you should get the hell out of dodge and inform emergency services of the risk. When a person has been dead for a few hours, the blood tends to get pulled down by gravity and settle at the lowest points of the body, making the underside of the body appear bruised and purple, while the skin above it is pale. This is an effect called lividity. I'm not sure exactly how the science works, but I was told by a retired Toronto Police detective that the bloodless skin above the regions affected by lividity may appear bright pink if a person has died from CO poisoning. Is there anyone here who can confirm or elaborate on this?[/QUOTE] they probably could just do an analysis of their blood and see how much CO was in it or the tissue this is why you clean flues and have monoxide sensors though

[QUOTE=Sableye;51747987]they probably could just do an analysis of their blood and see how much CO was in it or the tissue this is why you clean flues and have monoxide sensors though[/QUOTE] Just an important safety consideration for first responders, especially if it's in a fenced-off area, because CO is heavier than air.

[QUOTE=archangel125;51747843]BTW, as much as I hope none of you ever have to experience this yourself, there is a way to determine, by examining a corpse, whether Carbon Monoxide poisoning is a likely culprit, in which case you should get the hell out of dodge and inform emergency services of the risk. When a person has been dead for a few hours, the blood tends to get pulled down by gravity and settle at the lowest points of the body, making the underside of the body appear bruised and purple, while the skin above it is pale. This is an effect called lividity. I'm not sure exactly how the science works, but I was told by a retired Toronto Police detective that the bloodless skin above the regions affected by lividity may appear bright pink if a person has died from CO poisoning. Is there anyone here who can confirm or elaborate on this?[/QUOTE] I believe it is the coloured areas themselves that are a different colour. Carboxyhemoglobin (the complex formed between hemoglobin and carbon monoxide) is bright red, and when viewed through the skin appears cherry pink. It's not always reliable because several other factors can alter the appearance of the body, and there are other causes for a pink colouration (storage in the cold being a major one).

[QUOTE=Headhumpy;51748481]I believe it is the coloured areas themselves that are a different colour. Carboxyhemoglobin (the complex formed between hemoglobin and carbon monoxide) is bright red, and when viewed through the skin appears cherry pink. It's not always reliable because several other factors can alter the appearance of the body, and there are other causes for a pink colouration (storage in the cold being a major one).[/QUOTE] Thanks, man. I figured it was possible I was misremembering something, because it's been eight years now...