PHUKET: The Belanger sisters and possibly two other women who died mysteriously on Phi Phi were probably killed by pesticide, a new report by Canadian media has found.
The joint investigation joint investigation by CBC's the fifth estate and Radio-Canada's Enquete went undercover to probe whether a lethal pesticide called aluminum phosphide could have been used.
Reporters were told by an expert that that it could kill a human in less than two hours if the concentration is high enough.
Denis Bureau, a fumigation specialist in Quebec, said: ''If you're asleep in the room next to it or in the room where it's been under fumigation, you'll be dead in a few hours.''
The toxic pesticide is typically found in the form of pellets that, once exposed to air and moisture, release a poisonous gas called phosphine.
In Thailand, authorities told the CBC/Radio-Canada investigation that the use of aluminum phosphide in hotels is strictly forbidden.
A team from Enquete went undercover to visit seven pest control companies in Thailand to see if it is possible to get the pesticide for use in a hotel.
Employees at most of the companies said they did not use this pesticide in hotels.
But at one company, the owner explained how simple it is to use aluminum phosphide pellets to kill bedbugs in a hotel or guest house. After three days, she said a room fumigated with aluminum phosphide would be safe to sleep in.
A maid found Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger dead in their room at a Phi Phi resort in 2012. The Belanger family requested that the Quebec coroner do an autopsy on their daughters.
Almost two years since the autopsy was performed, the results have not been released. They are expected to be made public in June.
Norwegian Julie Bergheim and American Jill St. Onge were staying in adjacent rooms at a guest house on Phi Phi in 2009 when they fell ill and died, with symptoms similar to the Belangers.
Norwegian doctors who autopsied Bergheim concluded that the most likely cause was poisoning from the phosphine gas released by the pesticide, the investigation finds.
In 2011, four people staying in a hotel in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai died within a few days.
After those deaths, a Thai investigation suggested pesticides might have been the cause, and recommended further study of the risk.
The joint investigation joint investigation by CBC's the fifth estate and Radio-Canada's Enquete went undercover to probe whether a lethal pesticide called aluminum phosphide could have been used.
Reporters were told by an expert that that it could kill a human in less than two hours if the concentration is high enough.
Denis Bureau, a fumigation specialist in Quebec, said: ''If you're asleep in the room next to it or in the room where it's been under fumigation, you'll be dead in a few hours.''
The toxic pesticide is typically found in the form of pellets that, once exposed to air and moisture, release a poisonous gas called phosphine.
In Thailand, authorities told the CBC/Radio-Canada investigation that the use of aluminum phosphide in hotels is strictly forbidden.
A team from Enquete went undercover to visit seven pest control companies in Thailand to see if it is possible to get the pesticide for use in a hotel.
Employees at most of the companies said they did not use this pesticide in hotels.
But at one company, the owner explained how simple it is to use aluminum phosphide pellets to kill bedbugs in a hotel or guest house. After three days, she said a room fumigated with aluminum phosphide would be safe to sleep in.
A maid found Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger dead in their room at a Phi Phi resort in 2012. The Belanger family requested that the Quebec coroner do an autopsy on their daughters.
Almost two years since the autopsy was performed, the results have not been released. They are expected to be made public in June.
Norwegian Julie Bergheim and American Jill St. Onge were staying in adjacent rooms at a guest house on Phi Phi in 2009 when they fell ill and died, with symptoms similar to the Belangers.
Norwegian doctors who autopsied Bergheim concluded that the most likely cause was poisoning from the phosphine gas released by the pesticide, the investigation finds.
In 2011, four people staying in a hotel in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai died within a few days.
After those deaths, a Thai investigation suggested pesticides might have been the cause, and recommended further study of the risk.
A reasonable explaination but nonetheless shocking. And super dangerous. Only high profile accidents with young and healthy tourists happened? What is with older, sicker ones? What is with regular Thais? That sounds like the tip of the pesticide killing iceberg.
Posted by Lena on March 14, 2014 14:17