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PHOTOS 3 students found dead, 7 unconscious at resort house; toxic gas suspected

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  • Published Dec 18, 2018 2:46 pm KST
  • Updated Dec 19, 2018 10:13 am KST

Three high school students were found dead and seven others unconscious at the resort house seen here, Tuesday. Yonhap

The students were found on the floor about 1:12 p.m., with some vomiting or foaming at the mouth. Yonhap

The site is locked down for investigation. Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

Three high school students were found dead and seven others unconscious at a toxic gas-filled two-story resort house in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, police said Tuesday.

The death toll could rise because some of the survivors are in critical condition, they said. The victims ― all male ― are reportedly senior students of Daesung High School in Seoul who were on a self-arranged field trip after finishing the state-administrated scholastic aptitude test for university entrance.

They checked in on Monday without a teacher. Before allowing their check-in, the rental house's manager called a parent to check the purpose of the students' visit, Lee Jin-ho, chief of the Gangneung Fire Station, told reporters at the scene. One of the students made the reservation on the lodging's website, he said.

The manager found the students on the floor about 1:12 p.m. Some were vomiting or foaming at the mouth, according to police.

Air in the house had a “high concentration of carbon monoxide,” police said. Carbon monoxide inhalation can result in loss of consciousness or even death.

The students were heard talking and giggling at 3 a.m., police quoted the manager as saying.

“No coal briquette was found inside the house,” a police officer said. “So at the moment we don't think the nature of this case is suicide.”

Another official said “at the moment, it's considered an accident.”

Police said the house has a gas boiler-based heating system, so investigators are looking into the possibility of a gas leak from the house's ventilation system or boiler.

They found no signs of foul play.

Rescue workers inside the house. Courtesy of Gangwon Fire Headquarters

The victims are reportedly senior students of Daesung High School in Seoul who were on an excursion after finishing the state-administrated scholastic aptitude test for university entrance. Yonhap