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wilderone
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Pescadero - 2 norteamericanos die in hotel
June 15, 2023, 3:37 AM PDT / Source: Associated Press
By The Associated Press
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Police in a seaside community on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula said Wednesday that two Americans have been found
dead in their hotel room.
Police said the deaths occurred in the community of El Pescadero on Tuesday. The town is located between Todos Santos and the resort of Los Cabos, in
Baja California Sur state.
U.S. officials said they were aware of the case but could not comment on it because of privacy concerns. There was no immediate information on the
names or hometowns of the victims.
According to a police, paramedics received a report Tuesday that the Americans were unconscious in their room. They were dead by the time paramedics
arrived. The suspected cause of death was inhalation of gas.
[AND] The two people were discovered in the Hotel Rancho Pescadero [a Hyatt property] in the seaside town of El Pescadero around 9pm local time on
Tuesday. Paramedics received a report of the two Americans were unconscious but by the time they arrived, the two were unresponsive with no vital
signs, according to ABC News.
The Baja California Sur Attorney’s General Office told ABC News the two Americans were identified as John Heathco, 41, and Abby Lutz, 22.
[Edited on 6-15-2023 by wilderone]
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pauldavidmena
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This report from the ABC News website states the cause of death was "intoxication by substance to be determined."
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RFClark
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“Inhalation of gas” after reviewing the room pictures (no obvious kitchens or heaters) the following could be a possibility as well.
“ The practices are known colloquially as "sniffing", "huffing" or "bagging".
The effects of inhalants range from an alcohol-like intoxication and intense euphoria to vivid hallucinations, depending on the substance and the
dose. Some inhalant users are injured due to the harmful effects of the solvents or gases or due to other chemicals used in the products that they are
inhaling. As with any recreational drug, users can be injured due to dangerous behavior while they are intoxicated, such as driving under the
influence. In some cases, users have died from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), pneumonia, heart failure or arrest,[5] or aspiration of vomit. Brain damage
is typically seen with chronic long-term use of solvents as opposed to short-term exposure.[6]”
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BajaBruno
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Possible, Mr. Clark, but it is far more likely that there was a malfunctioning propane water heater in the room. I suppose a smart traveler would
pack a carbon monoxide detector, though I have never done that. I might start. This is not an uncommon occurrence.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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wilderone
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"In a GoFundMe post, a friend of Lutz says the couple may have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.
"'Abby and her boyfriend thought they had food poisoning and went to the hospital to get treatment. We were told they were feeling much better a few
days later,” Gabrielle Slate posted. “We received a phone call saying that they had passed away peacefully in their hotel room in their sleep. We
have been told it was due to improper venting of the resort.'"
News report states she was found on the bed, he in the shower.
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tomieharder
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That is very sad.
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mtgoat666
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Quote: Originally posted by BajaBruno  | | Possible, Mr. Clark, but it is far more likely that there was a malfunctioning propane water heater in the room. I suppose a smart traveler would
pack a carbon monoxide detector, though I have never done that. I might start. This is not an uncommon occurrence. |
Hyatt is a top-dollar hotel. Why would hyatt not equip their hotel rooms with CO detectors especially if rooms are near combustion sources?
Mexico does not require detectors, but one would think that an american company hyatt would follow higher safety standards their american and european
guests would expect of American branded hotel
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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RFClark
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Goat,
Propane burners generally don’t generate CO. That’s why they power forklifts and ventless heaters with propane. They can deplete the Oxygen in a
closed room leading to hypoxia however.
Personally, I have never stayed in a hotel room with an indoor propane water heater.
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: Originally posted by RFClark | Goat,
Propane burners generally don’t generate CO. That’s why they power forklifts and ventless heaters with propane. They can deplete the Oxygen in a
closed room leading to hypoxia however.
Personally, I have never stayed in a hotel room with an indoor propane water heater. |
Propane burners do emit CO, maybe not as much as other fuels. And a malfunctioning burner likely emits more CO than properly tuned burner.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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JZ
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Damn, that is very sad.
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surabi
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They do if they aren't adjusted properly. Been quite a few tourists in various places who have died of carbon monoxide poisoning in hotels and condos
with AC, where the windows stay closed.
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pauldavidmena
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Here's an update from the Todos Santos Newsfeed on Facebook:
"Many of you may have read the tragic news about the two Americans, Abby Lutz and John Heathco that lost their precious lives in a hotel room in
Pescadero, BCS Mexico. What you may have not heard about are the two first responders that almost lost their lives as well, Fernando Valencia Sotelo
and Grisel Valencia Sotelo. The brother and sister team were the attending to Abby and John when they quickly became overcome. They were able to exit
the room just in time before Grisel collapsed to the ground. Fernando was able to get himself and Grisel back to their ambulance and administer oxygen
to himself and to her. They were then rushed to the hospital by other team members. The hospital in La Paz did what they could but they do not have
the proper treatment facilities. Today, since Grisel and Fernando were still feeling very ill and were very concerned about long-term effects, as a
team we decided to take them to a private hospital in San Jose del Cabo."
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bajarickster
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Pescadero
i lived in the Colo mts for 35 yrs. we had a natural gas furnace boiler. i had 5 fire detectors and changed batteries religiously on New Yrs. in
2003 the boiler was replaced by the largest plumbing company in Colo. in 2006 on the eve of St Patricks Day, my wife and i went to bed. it was 10
degrees and snowing. at 5am my 2 kittens would not leave me alone. after 15 minutes a got up to check their food. it was full. i was going back to
bed, but i decided to go downstairs to the office and look over some info for a speech i had to give that evening. 10 minutes later i got a massive
headache and thought i was catching the flu. i tried to walk upstairs but my legs were like rubber and i kept falling. i crawled up and into the
bedroom to wake up my wife. no response. i shook and slapped her and finally rolled her on the floor and her eyes opened and i asked how she was.
she also had a huge headache. 1 hour passed that neither off us really and then we were out on the deck calling 911. Suddenly my wife started
projectile vomiting and fell, breaking her ankle in 3 places. we lived in a very rural area but finally 2 ambulances, 2 fire trucks and 2 police cars
showed. the fireman came up the stairs and did CPR on my wife but nada. 2 fireman went into the house and came right back out yelling "Everyone use
oxygen masks." i ask why and he said carbon monoxide it 800ppm, the highest he'd ever seen. as they were putting my wife in a body bag. i screamed,
she can't be dead, try again. finally she responded and we were both rushed to the hospital for 2 hyperbaric chambers for 3 hrs. then 2 days in the
hospital. when we investigated we found that the plumbing had used the wrong gage vent pipe and it rusted thru in 3 yrs. 1 kitten died about 3
months later. we went on disability, sold the house and moved to La Paz with the male cat. we thought lifes too short.
long story, but the 2 who lost their lives probably had a similar experience. without our cats we'd be gone too
and i agree with the comment about Hyatt should of had CO detectors. if they had any type of flammable water heater. just such an unfortunate
incident
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena | Here's an update from the Todos Santos Newsfeed on Facebook:
"Many of you may have read the tragic news about the two Americans, Abby Lutz and John Heathco that lost their precious lives in a hotel room in
Pescadero, BCS Mexico. What you may have not heard about are the two first responders that almost lost their lives as well, Fernando Valencia Sotelo
and Grisel Valencia Sotelo. The brother and sister team were the attending to Abby and John when they quickly became overcome. They were able to exit
the room just in time before Grisel collapsed to the ground. Fernando was able to get himself and Grisel back to their ambulance and administer oxygen
to himself and to her. They were then rushed to the hospital by other team members. The hospital in La Paz did what they could but they do not have
the proper treatment facilities. Today, since Grisel and Fernando were still feeling very ill and were very concerned about long-term effects, as a
team we decided to take them to a private hospital in San Jose del Cabo." |
Yikes!
I cant imagine the Hyatt is still open for business after this event. At minimum, the hotel should shut down until problem is mitigated, and entire
hotel is checked for other instances of problem.
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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mtgoat666
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajarickster | i lived in the Colo mts for 35 yrs. we had a natural gas furnace boiler. i had 5 fire detectors and changed batteries religiously on New Yrs. in
2003 the boiler was replaced by the largest plumbing company in Colo. in 2006 on the eve of St Patricks Day, my wife and i went to bed. it was 10
degrees and snowing. at 5am my 2 kittens would not leave me alone. after 15 minutes a got up to check their food. it was full. i was going back to
bed, but i decided to go downstairs to the office and look over some info for a speech i had to give that evening. 10 minutes later i got a massive
headache and thought i was catching the flu. i tried to walk upstairs but my legs were like rubber and i kept falling. i crawled up and into the
bedroom to wake up my wife. no response. i shook and slapped her and finally rolled her on the floor and her eyes opened and i asked how she was.
she also had a huge headache. 1 hour passed that neither off us really and then we were out on the deck calling 911. Suddenly my wife started
projectile vomiting and fell, breaking her ankle in 3 places. we lived in a very rural area but finally 2 ambulances, 2 fire trucks and 2 police cars
showed. the fireman came up the stairs and did CPR on my wife but nada. 2 fireman went into the house and came right back out yelling "Everyone use
oxygen masks." i ask why and he said carbon monoxide it 800ppm, the highest he'd ever seen. as they were putting my wife in a body bag. i screamed,
she can't be dead, try again. finally she responded and we were both rushed to the hospital for 2 hyperbaric chambers for 3 hrs. then 2 days in the
hospital. when we investigated we found that the plumbing had used the wrong gage vent pipe and it rusted thru in 3 yrs. 1 kitten died about 3
months later. we went on disability, sold the house and moved to La Paz with the male cat. we thought lifes too short.
long story, but the 2 who lost their lives probably had a similar experience. without our cats we'd be gone too
and i agree with the comment about Hyatt should of had CO detectors. if they had any type of flammable water heater. just such an unfortunate
incident
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Wow! Glad you survived. You said you had detectors, did they not work?
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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surabi
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He said he had "fire detectors", not CO detectors, Goat. (I assume he meant smoke detectors)
Totally different thing, of course.
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karenintx
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So sad to read things like this that are so preventable.
We have this next to our propane dryer tank.
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Detector-Propane-Detectors-De...
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surabi
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If you think that will alert you to carbon monoxide, you are mistaken. Gas leaks and carbon monoxide are two completely different things. Gas leaks
are caused by bad gas fittings, leaking gas hoses, broken gas lines, etc, and are dangerous because they can result in an explosion. Carbon monoxide
is produced by improper combustion in the appliance and have nothing to do with gas leaks.
You need a CO detector to alert you to carbon monoxide.
In fact, a CO detector is more important than a gas leak detector because you can usually smell a gas leak. They add that stuff that smells kind of
like rotten eggs to propane specifically so you can smell a leak. Whereas carbon monoxide is odorless.
Gas appliances should burn with a blue flame. If the flame is yellow or orange, it isn't adjusted properly and islikely emitting CO.
[Edited on 6-16-2023 by surabi]
[Edited on 6-16-2023 by surabi]
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Don Pisto
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| Quote: Originally posted by surabi |
If you think that will alert you to carbon monoxide, you are mistaken. Gas leaks and carbon monoxide are two completely different things. Gas leaks
are dangerous because they can result in an explosion. Carbon monoxide is produced by improper combustion in the appliance and have nothing to do with
gas leaks.
You need a CO detector to alert you to carbon monoxide.
In fact, a CO detector is more important than a gas leak detector because you can usually smell a gas leak. They add that stuff that smells kind of
like rotten eggs to propane specifically so you can smell a leak. Whereas carbon monoxide is odorless.
Gas appliances should burn with a blue flame. If the flame is yellow or orange, it isn't adjusted properly and islikely emitting CO.
[Edited on 6-16-2023 by surabi] |
good stuff, sure wouldn't hurt to have a good combo detector not only in your house but in your luggage when you travel
there's only two things in life but I forget what they are........
John Hiatt
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SFandH
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I just read about CO poisoning - nasty stuff. It replaces the oxygen in your blood. It's odorless, colorless, and a bit lighter than air, so it
diffuses in a closed area, and you don't know you're breathing it.
There are small portable sensors you can carry when traveling.
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