Laughing gas probe in France after three teens die in pool car crash
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Canisters of nitrous oxide at a recycling centre near Paris, France.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Three teens in France drowned after their car crashed into a private swimming pool in Ales at 2am.
- Bottles of nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") were found in the car, potentially linking the crash to recreational drug use.
- The homeowner discovered the overturned car at 6am; laws are being considered to ban recreational nitrous oxide use.
AI generated
MONTPELLIER, France - Three teens drowned on Dec 3 in France after the car they were in veered of the road into a private swimming pool, a prosecutor said, in a case possibly linked to laughing gas.
The car smashed into a wall of the private residence, flipped onto its back and fell into the swimming pool with its wheels spinning in the air at around 2am (9am in Singapore) in the southern town of Ales, prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini said.
It was not immediately clear which of the young men – aged 14, 15 and 19 – was driving.
“It truly is the height of horror,” Mr Grini said.
“They found themselves upside down in freezing water, incapable of getting out.”
The home’s owner, a baker, discovered the car after returning from his night shift at around 6am, the prosecutor said.
A police source told AFP that several bottles of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”, were found in the car.
Nitrous oxide is a colourless gas used for pain relief in dentistry and medicine, as well as in catering, for example to make whipped cream.
Recreational use – which produces feelings of euphoria, relaxation and dissociation from reality – has grown in popularity, particularly among young people, who inhale it from balloons.
It is still legal in France for individuals to buy the gas, though lawmakers are trying to push a draft law through Parliament to ban its recreational use.
Several towns in France have tried to ban its public consumption and restrict its sale, warning of an increased risk of road accidents.
A driver who had consumed the gas killed a 19-year-old in the northern town of Lille in November. AFP
