Man dies from use of Laughing Gas

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Sydney Morning Herald

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Local pulled laughing gas victims from car

By Jano Gibson, Les Kennedy and AAP
September 19, 2005 - 12:34PM

People do "weird and wondrous things" to get high but the four people who tried a deadly experiment with laughing gas were old enough to know better, NSW Police say.

One man has died and three others were in a critical condition after the four allegedly inhaled nitrous oxide in a car at Toongabbie, in Sydney's west.

The car was parked on the front lawn of the dead man's house. Little is known about the victims, although intitial inquiries suggest all four had been together the previous evening.

Blacktown police Chief Inspector Damon Cox said a local resident found the four in a semi-conscious or unconscious state inside the car about 7.45am yesterday and dragged a couple of them out.

The gas was flowing out of a cylinder sitting in the back of the hatchback. The windows were sealed.

The man, 38, and the woman, 23, were clinically dead when ambulance officers arrived, police said.

All four were taken to Blacktown Hospital, where the man was declared dead on arrival.

The woman, from Maraylya near Windsor, remained in a "very critical condition" in Westmead Hospital, where she is fighting for her life.

The other two males, a 33-year-old from Toongabbie, and a 22-year-old from Pennant Hills, were treated and released from hospital last night.

Police have been able to speak briefly to them.

Although the blue cylinder was marked "nitrous oxide", police were waiting for confirmation of the gas inside the cylinder.

"Now while we can't confirm the contents until they are examined, we believe that's what we're dealing with," Inspector Cox said.

"It's a hatch vehicle so whatever was released in the boot could freely get into the remainder of the vehicle."

He said toxicology tests from the post-mortem examination on the dead man were expected to take a week. An analysis of the cylinder's contents was expected tomorrow.

"I can say that a one-metre long cylinder labelled 'nitrous oxide' was recovered from the vehicle but we have not been able to establish what the contents of it [the cylinder] are at this stage," he said.

"People do strange and funny things to try and get high," Inspector Cox said. "If that is the case, what has happened here then we are discouraging it."

Police said the cylinder's valve appeared to have been opened intentionally.

Inspector Cox told ABC Radio earlier: "[The neighbour] could smell a bit of a smell inside the car, a sort of a sweet smell, so he's rung Triple-0.

"His actions have actually saved a few of their lives."

Inspector Cox would not confirm or deny that other gas cylinders were located at the house where the car with the four people was found.

He said he was "unsure" if anyone would be arrested over the matter.

He also warned against anyone trying the drug.

"If anyone is contemplating using this kind of gas as a means of getting some type of kick we strongly say that they shouldn't do it. The health consequences can be dire."

He said it was an unusual situation, but was not a first in his policing career.

"People do some weird and wondrous things to try and get a bit of a buzz, or whether in fact it was an accident, we don't know but certainly it's not a first," he said.

"The gas itself, they commonly call it laughing gas, so whether these people were sort of using it to maybe get a bit of a high or something like that, but it obviously had disastrous effects."

He said the four were old enough to know better.

"They're certainly adults that should know better and if, in fact, they are fooling around with gases like this, it certainly gives a strong warning."

The emergency services director at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, Dr Gordian Fulde, said it is a lack of oxygen, rather than the gas itself, that is deadly.

"The thing that kills people and makes them very sick is not the gas, it's the exclusion of oxygen - the same thing goes for smoke or chemical fumes when people are working in enclosed spaces," he told ABC Online.

Union Street resident Winston Yip, 17, said his mother had seen similar behaviour outside the house where the four were found unconscious yesterday.

"My mum apparently thinks she's seen it before. They usually go in the car for a long amount of time and then come out," he said.
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Link fixed and article added - Skyline
 
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The emergency services director at Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, Dr Gordian Fulde, said it is a lack of oxygen, rather than the gas itself, that is deadly.
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So in other words it wasn't the presence of nitrous oxide that killed them so much as the lack of oxygen and common sense.
 
Ehm, I'm pretty sure that was attempted suicide. If you read the method files on the internet nitrous oxide comes highly recommended, this would be a very nice way to check out and a very silly way to try and get high.

--- G.
 
I just wonder if the other three also had suicidal intentions?? Otherwise i think they would not participate in that "N2O party". It seems to me like it was just a group of folk without the proper common sense to to have fun with nitrous :\
 
"If anyone is contemplating using this kind of gas as a means of getting some type of kick we strongly say that they shouldn't do it. The health consequences can be dire."
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...when you completely cut off your oxygen supply.
 
Morrison's Lament said:
Ehm, I'm pretty sure that was attempted suicide. If you read the method files on the internet nitrous oxide comes highly recommended, this would be a very nice way to check out and a very silly way to try and get high.

--- G.
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i agree. if you ever read about those suicide pacts online, the idea was often to meet upwith other people in the suicide pact, and people often used this method (not necessarily with nitrous, but filling the car with any gas.)
 
I doubt this was suicide, if you read the end of the article the kid says his mum reckons shes seen them do it before.

This hit pretty close to home for me, i know people from that suburb, infact i would be very very surprised if one particular person i know in that suburb wasn't friends or friends of friends with the people involved, or he himself could be one of the people involved come to think of it, i thought i would have heard if it was him but the person i know him through is actually away atm so.....

Also my friends have often seriously suggested get a tank of nitrous and releasing it into a enclosed space (like a small room and even taping off the top and bottom of the door) and i've had to be the one to shoot down the idea because i've read warnings about this online. I've also had to be the one to stop people from doing bulbs while standing up, one friend still insists we have to one time do it in a room lined with the floor covered with pillows (i still think its stupid).
 
and Kemicalburn was all trying to suggest aussies were more intelligent than Americans...

yah theres no way ppl would be this dumb, and just use a baloon or nangs. i think ML is right:



Morrison's Lament said:
Ehm, I'm pretty sure that was attempted suicide. If you read the method files on the internet nitrous oxide comes highly recommended, this would be a very nice way to check out and a very silly way to try and get high.

--- G.
Click to expand...
 
Inhale it from a facemask, sitting in a chair and looking down with it NOT strapped to your face, so if you pass out it will fall off. Of course you may also wake up face-down on the floor but it beats death, and you shouldn't be doing enough to pass out anyway.

--- G.
 
not sure about suicide, although it would be a nice way to go out. There's a lot of idiots out there also..
 
Theoretically a cannister of NO2 and two cannisters of O2 should be enough to get u high and stay alive?? (In an enclosed space of course)
 
Markoss said:
Theoretically a cannister of NO2 and two cannisters of O2 should be enough to get u high and stay alive?? (In an enclosed space of course)
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that atually sounds kinda fun, but still dangerous. Wouldn't wanna try it myself.
 
they had been for a night out, so it wouldnt suprise me if the toxology results show the presense of other illigal substances, probably a good monging night turned deadly
 
Has anyone seent he picture of this? a little hyundia excel with a big tank of NO2 sitting next to it, a freinds brother asked if they died trying to put it in the car as a NOS shot haha
Also 2 people are now dead :(
 
Dying from lack of oxygen sounds like a terrible way to die, to feel parts of your brain shut off in helplessness. Like getting electrocuted in slo-mo.
 
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