Bosnian police say eight young men and women died in a house in southwestern Bosnia, apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning during a New Year’s Eve celebration.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Eight young men and women have died in a house in southwestern Bosnia, apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning during a New Year’s Eve celebration, police said on Friday.
Local police spokeswoman Martina Medic told the Associated Press that police responded to the call around 10am and went to a house in Tribistovo where several people were found dead. The village is 150 kilometers (90) southwest of Sarajevo, the capital.
Local police commissioner Milan Galic later told the N1 broadcaster that the victims were locals, four men and four women, aged 18-20.
“They probably suffocated, but more information will be available after the investigation,” Galic said.
The Posusje municipality, where the village is located, lamented in a Facebook message ‘eight young lives lost’, and encouraged local cafes and restaurants to close to honor the victims. Top officials from Bosnia and Croatia sympathized with their families.
Bosnian and Croatian media said the eight high school and university students died as a result of carbon monoxide that died from a generator they used to heat when they celebrated New Year’s Eve in a holiday home.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that can cause sudden illness and death.