The Georgian Prime Minister (German link) has been found dead in a friend’s flat, apparently gassed by the stove. The friend, a provincial governor, also died. The article quotes the director of the Tbilisi gas board (not a source I ever thought I’d quote) as saying that a high concentration of gas was detected in the flat. Question: surely Georgia, plugged into the ex-Soviet natural gas pipelines, uses natural gas? Unless the flat was so hermetic that so much gas could accumulate that they died of asphyxia, this can’t be the reason because natural gas isn’t poisonous.
This is why people in Britain haven’t been able to commit suicide in their ovens since the North Sea gas fields were discovered. (I recall the story of the chap who stuck his head in the oven, waited for death, and when death failed to arrive decided to light a last cigarette. He survived the blast but his neighbour didn’t. A sort of reverse Darwin Award.)
Possibly the gas in question was carbon monoxide from that stove, which would have done it. Or perhaps there was something more sinister involved? I suspect there might be some more trickling through the web about this. Soj has promised a post on this, so watch this space. And remember kids, a blue flame is a safe flame.