Four in Japan die after inhaling carbon dioxide from dry ice used to preserve bodies inside coffins

In typical conditions, CO2 is a colourless, odourless gas making up roughly 0.03 per cent of the air.

TOKYO: At least four people in Japan have died from inhaling carbon dioxide from dry ice used to preserve bodies inside coffins, prompting several agencies to issue a warning on Thursday: Don’t stay too close to open caskets for too long.

Those who died were said to have stood too close for too long beside coffins with the remains of their kin, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. They were between 40 and 70 years old.