Two dead children in Lower Franconia: Task force finds toxic gas in the house

Created: 01/27/2022, 11:53 am

By: Thomas Eldersch

Two children's bodies were found in Karlstein, Lower Franconia, on Monday.

Investigators may now have found the cause of the deaths of the small children.

Karlstein - The news on Monday shook the entire Lower Franconian community of Karlstein to the core.

Two young children (ages five and four) were found dead* in their father's home.

He himself needed medical attention.

A relative had found the lifeless small children in the early hours of the morning.

Now there are new findings from the investigators.

A special unit of the fire brigade - a so-called analytical task force - had already carried out the first measurements in the house in the Dettingen district on Monday.

There, according to the public prosecutor's office in Aschaffenburg*

, they detected hydrogen phosphide on

This is a colorless gas that is used, for example, to combat pests.

But it can also be found in varnishes and paints.

If people are exposed to a high dose of the gas over a longer period of time, there is a risk of death.

It is still unclear where and how the gas escaped.

Two dead children in Lower Franconia: Investigators can rule out carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning - for example due to a defective heater - is therefore ruled out.

This was also the result of the autopsy of the children's bodies.

However, there are still no results of the toxicological investigation.

These are expected on Friday.

Carbon monoxide poisoning was suspected on Monday because emergency services noticed a strong, garlic-like odor.

A scent is often added to gas for heating so that the otherwise odorless gas can be quickly identified in the event of a leak.

However, phosphine also has a garlic-like odor, according to

.

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