Mayo coroner issues warning after man died inhaling helium
Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald said it was the first case she had come across in Mayo.
A coroner has warned of the perils of recreational helium use after the death of a 32-year-old man.
Stefan Danicic, of St Gerald's Court, Ballyhaunis, was discovered in his bedroom by his parents on September 13 last. An empty helium gas cannister was found beside his unresponsive body.
An inquest into the factory worker’s death took place at Ballina Courthouse last week.
The father of the deceased, Karim Benkhelifa, said his son went to bed at 9pm the previous night. Mr Benkhelifa left for work at 6am that morning before calling to the house with his wife at around 3.20pm. He said he heard his wife “scream” when she entered her son’s bedroom.
The family and ambulance personnel performed CPR but were unable to save Mr Danicic.
Mr Benkhelifa said “everything was good with his son" and the family said Mr Danicic was “definitely not” a regular user of helium.
The inquest heard that Mr Danic was laid to rest in his family’s hometown of Volkovar in Croatia.
A post-mortem was performed with the cause of death given as asphyxia due to helium inhalation.
A toxicology report was unable to provide analysis for the presence of helium.
Consultant pathologist Dr Fadel Bennani said the only autopsy finding was that the deceased's lungs were "very distended and overinflated" with congestion and oedema as well as a very congested face and conjunctiva.
“Although it is very difficult to test for the presence of helium gas because it is very volatile, the autopsy findings are consistent with inhalation of helium gas which caused asphyxia type of death,” the pathologist commented.
Consultant pathologist Dr Tamas Nemeth said helium usually taken “for pleasure” and can have similar effects to that of alcohol. He said it is very fast acting and can cause the death of someone who had no intention of taking their own life.
Returning a verdict of death by misadventure, coroner Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald said this was the first death from helium inhalation she had seen in the county.
