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Article: Cameroon: the first wave of clues. (poisonous gas accident)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- September 20, 1986
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1986 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cameroon: The First Wave of Clues
Scientists may never know exactly what caused a cloud of gases to escape from Cameroon's Lake Nyos on the evening of Aug. 21, killing more than 1,700 people and scores of animals (SN:8/30/86, p.133). But a few pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together.
In its Sept. 7 preliminary report to the Agency for International Development (AID), a team of geoscientists concluded that the cloud consisted primarily of carbon dioxide -- a finding consistent with the results of medical examinations, which showed that the victims had died of carbon dioxide suffocation (SN:9/6/86, p.148). While they still have little ...