Police suspect faulty ventilation pipe caused students' deaths

Investigators of the National Forensic Service check a ventilation pipe at a holiday home in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Wednesday, one day after three high school students dies and seven was left unconscious, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Police said Wednesday that they had found a ventilation defect in a gas boiler at a holiday home in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, tentatively concluding that carbon monoxide poisoning killed three high school students and left seven unconscious the day before.

During an investigation of the two-story property, police tested the gas-powered boiler and found that its ventilation pipe emitted a high level of fumes.

The test came after police set up an ad-hoc investigation headquarters and inspected the vacation home. They found that the gas boiler's ventilation pipe was not properly connected and this was the probable cause of the incident.

This backed up an earlier finding that the level of carbon monoxide in the students' room was 155 parts per million (ppm), well above the standard 20 ppm.

In examining the three dead students, pathologists found that the carbon monoxide levels in their blood were far above the fatal level, adding no other toxic substances were detected.

“We conducted combustion tests repeatedly and found that the boiler emitted a large quantity of exhaust fumes from the faulty pipe,” said a police officer, adding investigators plan to do more tests on the boiler jointly with the National Forensic Service (NFS) and the Korea Gas Safety Corp.

In addition, there was no alarm system for gas leaks at the vacation home ― although this was not illegal.

The victims were seniors at Daesung High School in Seoul who took the college entrance exam last month, and then went to stay at the vacation home with their parents' permission. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) confirmed it was not an official trip and the students traveled on their own after getting permission from their school. No teachers or parents accompanied them.

The seven surviving students were admitted to two hospitals ― five at Gangneung Asan Hospital and two at Wonju Severance Christian Hospital.

According to police, one survivor recovered early Wednesday and could say his name and answer simple questions, while later in the day another student regained consciousness and is now stable enough to drink water. Both of them were at the Asan hospital.

The rest are in intensive care and are undergoing treatment in hyperbaric chambers.

In the wake of the deadly incident, Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae held a meeting with education officials Wednesday to discuss countermeasures.

“The education ministry plans to check if high school seniors receive proper education programs after taking the college entrance exam,” the minister said. “It is also set to monitor their field trips.”

Although the SMOE is in charge of matters pertaining to the incident, the ministry will oversee the investigation, Yoo added.