A young couple who went on a romantic trip have died from carbon monoxide poisoning after they turned on the gas boiler in their Airbnb rented flat.
Journalism student Anastasia Kovalchuk and her boyfriend Andrey Raskazchikov, both 21, died in the flat as an improvised carbon monoxide removal system on the gas boiler reportedly failed on the first day of their visit to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine’s Lviv Oblast region.
According to reports, two couples – Anastasia and Andrey and their friends identified by their names Masha and Yegor, both 20, went to spend four days in Lviv, a popular city for tourists.
The couples used the Airbnb app and rented a two-room flat in the city.
In the evening on the first day of their stay in Lviv the friends reportedly turned on the boiler to take showers.
Yegor is said to have taken the first shower and felt sick afterwards so went to bed. The same thing reportedly happened to Andrey who was second in the shower. Masha was tired after the long walk through the city and went to sleep without taking shower, according to reports.
Anastasia is said to have taken a shower third after Andrey.
In the morning, Anastasia and Andrey were reportedly found motionless by their friends. She was lying in the bathtub and he was in bed, according to reports.
After failing to wake them up, their friends called an ambulance and the paramedics soon arrived but could only confirm that they were both already dead.
Yegor, who still felt unwell in the morning was hospitalised. He was diagnosed with acute poisoning and placed into a pressure chamber for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Hospital spokeswoman Oksana Lykova said: “The patient was conscious but in a condition of middling severity. He was suffering from nausea, vomiting, dizziness. He is receiving necessary medical treatment and his life is safe now.”
The couple reportedly died because the improvised carbon monoxide removal system failed and carbon monoxide went into the bathroom instead of out in the street.
Masha, who did not have a shower in the flat, was not affected.
Anastasia’s father Aleksandr Kovalchuk, who visited and the flat, said: “The gas boiler is equipped with an improvised carbon monoxide removal system. The system is connected to an old fireplace that is not equipped with a safety system. The chimney of the fireplace has not been cleaned and tested for years.
“The bathroom ventilation is connected to the chimney. When they turned on the gas boiler, the carbon monoxide went into the bathroom through the ventilation.”
Police are investigating the case. No arrests have been reported and Airbnb are yet to make a statement.
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Story By: Sergey Panashchuk, Sub-Editor:Michael Leidig,  Agency: Central European News
