World : Tests Affirm Cause of 12 Deaths
Blood tests confirmed that 12 people who died during a religious ceremony led by a self-styled spiritualist suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, Baja California police officials said.
Blood samples from three of the victims revealed lethal levels of carboxyhemoglobin, which carried carbon monoxide rather than oxygen to the victims’ organs, said Miguel Pallares, a forensic chemist with the Baja California state police.
“The tests showed high enough levels to kill these people, Pallares said.
Baja California Assistant Atty. Gen. Victor Vazquez Fernandez also said tissue and blood tests indicated that the victims had not consumed alcohol or another toxic substance as first suspected, the official news agency Notimex reported.
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