Dozens evacuated in Japan gas suicide--fire officialAgence France-Presse
First Posted 13:46:00 06/04/2008
TOKYO -- Dozens of people were evacuated Wednesday after poisonous gas fumes escaped from an apartment in what appeared to be the latest in a spate of suicides in Japan using detergent, a fire official said.
Japan has seen at least 182 cases since late March in which people killed themselves by mixing different kinds of detergent to generate hydrogen sulphide gas, following instructions found easily on the Internet.
In what was suspected to be the latest case, the body of a man, reportedly in his 20s, was found in his bathroom with bottles of detergent lying around on the floor, said a fire department spokesman in the central city of Kanazawa.
"Thirty-four neighbors evacuated due to the gas," he said. "One woman complained of sickness and was taken to hospital."
Like many cases in the past, the man posted a warning note on his door, which read, "Danger. Poison gas fuming," the spokesman said.
Authorities have urged Internet providers to voluntarily crack down on the websites and have voiced concern that wide media coverage is leading to more suicides.
The Japan Association of Chain Drug Stores also issued a notice to its 190 member companies last month, urging them to stop selling products believed to have been used in gas suicide attempts.
Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates. It earlier saw a spate of group suicides by people burning charcoal burners to produce carbon monoxide.
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