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54 sickened by suicidal farmer's toxic vomit
The Yomiuri ShimbunFifty-four people were sickened at a hospital by toxic fumes from the vomit of a man who apparently attempted suicide by swallowing pesticide Wednesday night, police said. The toxic gas, believed to be a vaporized form of liquid pesticide, came from a 34-year-old farmer from Koshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, who was undergoing treatment at the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital emergency room in Kumamoto at about 11 p.m. Doctors, nurses, visiting patients and their families who inhaled the toxic fumes suffered pain in their eyes and throat. Ten of them were admitted to the Red Cross hospital and other hospitals. One of the 10, a 72-year-old woman, suffered breathing difficulty and was in serious condition Thursday. The man was later confirmed dead from pesticide poisoning. According to the police, rescue workers and the hospital, the pesticide was chloropicrin, a substance designated as toxic under law. . . . The man vomited while having his stomach pumped, and odorous toxic gas spread through the emergency room. Thirty-one hospital staff members, including doctors, and 23 outpatients and their families were sickened. About 20 of them were in treatment rooms, and others were in the waiting lounge. Hospital staff who were not sickened evacuated the sickened people to the lobby and provided intravenous drips and oxygen. . . . Posted by: Mike 2008-05-23 |
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