It was during the night towards Sunday that a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s were found dead in a basement under a summer cottage in the Kalix archipelago. According to the police, everything indicated that it was an accident, probably caused by a leak of LPG that was in the house.
Now the technical investigation shows that this was not the case. Instead, the police suspect that the couple may have been poisoned by dry ice.
– The LPG system has been tested and it was okay, based on that it is not reasonable that this is what has happened. Then we found packages of dry ice in the space, which is quite small, says Magnus Carlborg, acting local police area manager in eastern Norrbotten.
Dry ice is produced by compressing carbon dioxide. When the dry ice, which is significantly colder than ordinary ice, then heats up, it does not melt but changes to gaseous form and forms large levels of carbon dioxide. In a closed room, the large amount of carbon dioxide gas can in the worst case lead to suffocation, which the police suspect has happened in Kalix.
– There was so much dry ice that it was more than what was suitable for the surface where it was stored. When it is converted, we can suspect that a lot of carbon dioxide is formed, says Magnus Carlborg.
The cause of death can not be determined with certainty until the forensic examination is completed. According to Magnus Carlborg, poisoning of dry ice is very unusual.
– None of us here in Norrbotten have heard of anything like this.