A 24-year-old Scottish man died Monday when the chemical agent phosgene was produced inside his body through a mix of poison and water, the Scottish Daily Record reported (see GSN, March 27, 2007).
The man reportedly ingested rabbit poison and water, setting off an internal chemical reaction. He was found inside his car but died in an ambulance while being transported to a hospital in Edinburgh.
"The man died a terrible death, it was like a horror movie. He started to convulse wildly in the ambulance and toxic gas was coming out of his mouth and from his body," one emergency official told the newspaper.
Four police officers and two paramedics who came into contact with the man had to be decontaminated and undergo testing at a hospital.
"The ambulance crew had to be decontaminated with warm water and soap and their clothes were burnt," the source said. "They were kept under observation in hospital as phosgene can react after a delayed period but were later discharged."
Phosgene was used widely as a choking agent during World War I. It produced the most deaths of any chemical warfare material deployed during the war, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Kevan Christie, Scottish Daily Record I, April 8).
The newspaper identified the victim as Paul Dolan of Coldstream, Berwickshire (Scottish Daily Record II, April 10).
The substance that Dolan ingested is believed to have been the pesticide and vermin killer phostoxin, the London Times reported. Foul play is not suspected in the death (Lindsay McIntosh, London Times, April 9).