STRANGE DEATHS

UNUSUAL WAYS OF SHUFFLING OFF THIS MORTAL COIL

Data from just six fire brigades have revealed that skin creams containing paraffin have led to 37 deaths in England since 2010. The majority of cases came from the London Fire Brigade, which reported 28 fatalities. If people use products for conditions like eczema and psoriasis regularly but do not often change clothes or bedding, paraffin residue can soak into the fabric, making it flammable. Philip Hoe, 60, receiving treatment for psoriasis, died after accidentally setting himself on fire at Doncaster Royal Infirmary in 2006 when sparks from a cigarette reacted with the emollient cream he was covered in. Christopher Holyoake, 63, died in Leicester in 2015 when the flame from his cigarette lighter came into contact with the bedding covered in residue from an over-the-counter dermatological cream called E45. Also in 2015, John Hills, 84, died in Worthing, West Sussex, after setting himself on fire with his pipe. A paraffin-based cream called Cetraben had soaked into his clothes. BBC News, 19 Mar; Metro, 20 Mar 2017. Head Constable Rajendra Jatava was celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi when he accidentally shot himself in the head. A video filmed in Shivpuri district, northern India, allegedly shows him shooting his revolver twice in the air on 14 March. He then tried to shoot a third time but the gun jammed. Constable Jatava, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, then accidentally shot himself while trying to fix his gun. He was immediately rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. metro.co.uk, 18 Mar 2017. José Ignacio G, 23, was acting out the Gospel scene when Judas Iscariot hangs himself from a tree after betraying Christ. He had a wire around his neck and lost his footing during the Stations of the Cross ceremony in Barranquillas, Mexico. Onlookers tried to revive him, but he died on the way to hospital. Metro, 18 April 2017. Philip Shard, 60, of Rushmere St Andrew in Suffolk was struck by lightning on 27 May while clutching a golf club at the Fynn Valley Golf Club at Witnesham. He was resuscitated and taken to Ipswich Hospital in a critical condition, and died four days later. He had only become a member of the club a couple of months earlier. BBC News, 3 June; Sun, 6 June 2017. On 18 June, Rebecca Burger was killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser that hit her chest, causing cardiac arrest at her home in Mulhouse, eastern France. Although she received medical attention, she could not be saved. The 33-year-old lifestyle blogger was well known in France, with some 55,000 Facebook fans and 154,000 followers on Instagram. Less than two weeks later, Heuidi Dumotier, another Frenchwoman, was injured in the leg by another exploding cream dispenser. A whipped cream dispenser works by injecting gas into a metal container, keeping the entire dispenser under high pressure. One French consumer group has warned readers for years about faulty connectors on the gas capsules, causing them to break and expel at high speed. The injuries caused range from broken teeth and tinnitus to multiple fractures and, in one case, the loss of an eye. BBC News, Sky News, 22 June 2017. A student nurse in Colombia survived a fall from the sixth floor of a hospital in the city of Cali after landing on top of a doctor. The doctor, however, was not so lucky. Isabel Muñoz, who was studying at University Hospital del Valle, died from her injuries. She was walking across a courtyard on her way to the cafeteria at around 9am when Ms Gonzalez fell on her, causing traumatic brain injury. The nurse, Maria Isabel Gonzalez, suffered multiple fractures but was in a stable condition at the time of the report. It was not known what had caused her to fall. BBC News, 16 June 2017. A large black bear killed a 16-year-old boy who was participating in a popular trail running race in Alaska between Anchorage and Girdwood on 18 June. Patrick Cooper of Anchorage texted his family to say he was being chased by a bear while descending the extremely steep terrain. The race director, who had been handing out awards, organised a search party of runners after he was shown the message. Officials shot the 250lb (113kg) bear in the face, but it survived and ran off. Wildlife and law enforcement officials were still searching for the bear, which they intended to kill if found. The very next day, a black bear mauled a mineworker to death at Pogo Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska, while another man was injured. BBC News, 19 June, Eve. Standard, 20 June 2017.