SARAJEVO: Eight youngsters died in Bosnia overnight Friday in a weekend house where they celebrated the New Year, police said with local media reporting that they were victims of gas poisoning.

The victims include four men and four women between 18 and 20 years of age who were found dead in the weekend house in a village in southern Bosnia, police said.

Officers and ambulances rushed to the scene after being informed that several people, who were celebrating the New Year, were found in unconscious state in Trebistovo, police official Milan Galic told regional TV channel N1.

“The most likely cause of death is ... gas poisoning,” he said, adding that more details would be known after the investigation.

Local media reported that the victims died most likely from the exposure to gas that apparently came from a generator. Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltija voiced condolences to the victims’ families.

Local police spokeswoman Martina Medic said that police responded to a call around 10am and went to a house in Tribistovo where several people were found dead.

The village is 150 kilometers (90) southwest of Sarajevo, the capital.

Regional police Commissioner Milan Galic later told N1 broadcaster that the victims were local residents.

They most probably suffocated but more information will be available after the investigation, said Galic. The Posusje municipality, where the village is located, in a Facebook post mourned eight young lives lost, and urged local cafes and restaurants to close down to honour the victims. Top officials from Bosnia and Croatia offered condolences to their families.

Bosnian and Croatian media said the eight were high school and university students who died from carbon monoxide leaking from a generator they used for heating as they celebrated New Year’s Eve in a holiday cottage.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that can cause sudden illness and death.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2021