A Texas couple preparing for an Independence Day party was found dead in their wine cellar after being knocked out from a chemical reaction to dry ice, police said.
Houston cops responded to the Avalon Park home on Friday night on a fatal “hazardous material incident,” and found the married couple dead in the cellar, according to reports.
The unidentified pair was allegedly getting ready to entertain when they were overcome due to a chemical reaction to melting dry ice, killing them both, KHOU-TV News reported.
“There was dry ice being stored in the wine cellar,” Housing police Lt. Larry Crowson told the outlet. “When dry ice melts, it turns into carbon dioxide [gas]. Unfortunately, it appears the two people who went into the wine cellar were overcome.”
Dry ice is colder than frozen water and stays in solid form longer, but has a downside.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dry ice, which is carbon dioxide in solid form, is potentially toxic and should be handled and stored properly to avoid a lethal outcome.
In its gaseous form, carbon dioxide can cause serious injury or death, the agency said.
According to Fox affiliate KRIV-TV News, firefighters arriving at the Houston home Friday detected a chemical smell and had to don breathing apparatus to go inside, where the bodies were found.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
