THREE men aboard the South Korean fishing boat Dong Woo have died after inhaling gases from rotting squid guts, a cargo destined to be salted and served as a delicacy in Korea and Japan. On Sunday, rescuers found the men dead in a hold and the captain, the sole survivor, unconscious beside them.
The case is not as bizarre as it seems. 鈥淚t is common for the hold of fishing vessels to contain gases that kill the crew,鈥� says Dan Pauly of the University of British Columbia in Canada. The International Maritime Organization says asphyxiation in a closed space causes 4 per cent of accidental deaths on fishing boats, which are among the world鈥檚 most dangerous workplaces.
The Dong Woo鈥檚 crew were probably killed by hydrogen sulphide. Even low concentrations of the gas paralyse the olfactory nerve, making the warning smell of rotten eggs disappear.
Advertisement