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Carbon Monoxide Fells VA Tech Students

19 sickened; 5 roomies seriously poisoned

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2007 12:23 AM CDT

(Newser) – Five female roommates were seriously poisoned yesterday after a carbon monoxide leak in off-campus housing at Virginia Tech sickened 19 people. Two of the women remained in critical condition and three were listed as serious.The accident was yet another blow for the school which yesterday dedicated a memorial to 32 victims killed by a campus gunman in April.

All five roommates were found unconscious in their beds. They were discovered after a neighbor who fell ill called a repairman to fix what she initially thought was a gas leak. Two workmen dragged the roommates into a breezeway and paramedics were called. The leak appeared to come from a faulty valve on a water heater in the women's apartment.

An unidentified family member of slain Virginia Tech student Daniel Alejandro Prez Cueva, pauses at his memorial stone after the dedication of the memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. More than 10,000 people gathered on the main campus lawn...
An unidentified family member of slain Virginia Tech student Daniel Alejandro Prez Cueva, pauses at his memorial stone after the dedication of the memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting...   (Associated Press)
Two students walk past West Ambler-Johnson dormitory as they carry belongings to their dorm rooms on Virginia Tech's campus in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. The mood among most students and parents hauling belongings into dormitories was cheerful four months after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S....
Two students walk past West Ambler-Johnson dormitory as they carry belongings to their dorm rooms on Virginia Tech's campus in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. The mood among most students and...   (Associated Press)
Cindy Campbell, left, and Renita Kalber, right, help their daughters carry luggage into Virginia Tech's West Ambler-Johnson dormitory in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. Their daughters are incoming freshmen from Marion, Va. The mood among most students and parents hauling belongings into dormitories was cheerful four months after the...
Cindy Campbell, left, and Renita Kalber, right, help their daughters carry luggage into Virginia Tech's West Ambler-Johnson dormitory in Blacksburg, Va., Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007. Their daughters are...   (Associated Press)
Members of the Virginia Tech Marching Band, Alyson Tylus, from Midlothian, Va., left, Alex Scalco, of Stevensville Md., center, and Lisa Cowley, of Bridgewater N.J., right console each other during the dedication of the memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19,...
Members of the Virginia Tech Marching Band, Alyson Tylus, from Midlothian, Va., left, Alex Scalco, of Stevensville Md., center, and Lisa Cowley, of Bridgewater N.J., right console each other during the...   (Associated Press)
Virginia Tech students, Lauren Steel and Matt MacCormack, carry belongings out of  an apartment building where several students were overcome by carbon monoxide in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Virginia Tech students, Lauren Steel and Matt MacCormack, carry belongings out of an apartment building where several students were overcome by carbon monoxide in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Members of the Virginia Tech Marching Band embrace after a dedication ceremony for the memorial of the victims of April 16,2007 shooting on the drillfield at the school  in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Members of the Virginia Tech Marching Band embrace after a dedication ceremony for the memorial of the victims of April 16,2007 shooting on the drillfield at the school in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug....   (Associated Press)
Students and family walk past Norris Hall on their way to a memorial dedication  for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. More than 10,000 people gathered on the main campus lawn Sunday as Virginia Tech dedicated 32 memorial stones for those...
Students and family walk past Norris Hall on their way to a memorial dedication for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. More than 10,000 people gathered...   (Associated Press)
Family members pause at the memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. More than 10,000 people gathered on the main campus lawn Sunday as Virginia Tech dedicated 32 memorial stones for those killed by a student in a mass shooting...
Family members pause at the memorial for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va., Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007. More than 10,000 people gathered on the main campus lawn Sunday as Virginia...   (Associated Press)
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