A poisonous gas believed to have been released when someone tried to wash away a pesticide that had been sprayed under a Texas home killed four children and left six other people hospitalized, officials said Monday.

Phosphine gas was likely released when water mixed with the pest control chemical, Amarillo fire officials said. A specific cause of death had not been released for the four children Monday afternoon. The other six people who were in the home are "not out of the woods yet," fire officials said.

Crews who responded to a 5 a.m. call to the home originally thought it was related to carbon monoxide poisoning, Amarillo fire Capt. Larry Davis said in a statement. One child died at the scene and three others died at a hospital.

Officials didn't release any identifying information, including the children's ages or whether they were related. Davis said all four people who died were residents of the home.

Davis told the Amarillo Globe-News he wasn't sure how long the residents had been exposed to the phosphine gas before a visitor arrived Monday and found everyone sick and called 911. Phosphine gas can cause respiratory failure and in severe cases can cause a pulmonary edema, which fills the lungs full of fluid, he said.

Davis said about 10 first responders from the police, fire and medical response departments were also taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure, but none had shown symptoms of illness.

</s>Officials in Texas say four children have died from gas poisoning believed to have been caused by a pesticide sprayed under their Amarillo home.</s>Officials in Texas say four children have died from gas poisoning believed to have been caused by a pesticide sprayed under their Amarillo home. Fire officials say a chemical reaction occurred when one person tried to wash off a pesticide that had been sprayed under the house.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Brownsville Herald.</s>A poisonous gas believed to have been released when someone tried to wash away a pesticide that had been sprayed under a Texas home killed four children and left six other people hospitalized, officials said Monday.</s>Officials in Texas say four children have died from gas poisoning believed to have been caused by a pesticide sprayed under their Amarillo home.Amarillo Fire Department officials say other people who were in the home are "not out of the woods" yet.Fire officials say a chemical reaction occurred when one person tried to wash off a pesticide that had been sprayed under the house. Poisonous Phosphine gas was released.Capt. Larry Davis said in a statement Monday that crews responded to a medical call at the home about 5 a.m. One child died at the scene and three others died at a hospital. Officials didn't release any identifying information, including the children's ages.Other family members and first responders are being treated.</s>Four children have died and six people rushed to hospital after being poisoned by pesticides.

A noxious gas was released when someone tried to wash away a pesticide sprayed under a home, according to officials in Texas.

Emergency crews raced to the residence in Amarillo, Texas, and found one person unconscious and nine other people suffering serious side-effects from the poison.

They were all taken to hospital, but four youngsters were tragically pronounced dead.

Fire fighters quickly discovered the victims had been exposed to a lethal gas created when a pest control chemical was exposed to water.

Amarillo Fire Department Captain Larry Davis said the one of the home’s occupants had reportedly tried to crawl under it to wash some of the chemicals off, triggering the chemical reaction.

"It causes pulmonary edema, and basically the lungs fill up with fluid.

"We don’t know that that’s the cause of death so far, but that’s one of the more severe symptoms.

"It took us a long time to identify the chemicals.”

All four of the deceased were believed to be residents of the home, but it was unknown whether all of the people inside the house were related, Davis said.

He said crews were called out to the home in Carolyn at 5am after receiving reports residents were suffering carbon monoxide poisoning.

They discovered that one of the homeowners had tried to fumigate the house with a pesticide containing aluminum phosphate, a chemical that, when mixed with water, creates phosphine gas which can cause respiratory failure.

It was unclear how long the home’s residents had been exposed to the poisonous gas.

Names of the deceased have not been released, but the home is owned by Peter Balderas, according to the Potter-Randall Appraisal District government office.</s>AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — A Texas woman was in critical condition Tuesday following an accidental poisoning under her home that killed four of her children and sickened five other family members, hospital and fire officials said.

Crews who responded to a 5 a.m. call to the home on Monday originally thought it was related to carbon monoxide poisoning, but authorities later determined that phosphine gas was likely released when a family member used water to wash away pesticide pellets he had placed under the mobile home. One child died at the scene and three others died at a hospital.

Martha Balderas, 45, of Amarillo was in critical condition Tuesday at University Medical Center in Lubbock, according to a hospital spokesman. Her husband and four of their children were in stable condition at BSA Health System in Amarillo, according to the hospital and fire officials.

Fire officials said the children who died were three boys aged 7, 9 and 11, and a 17-year-old girl. Officials have said all four children lived at the home.

Investigators said it’s unclear how long the residents had been exposed to the phosphine gas before a visitor arrived Monday and found everyone sick and called 911. Phosphine gas can cause respiratory failure and in severe cases can cause a pulmonary edema, which fills the lungs full of fluid.

About 10 first responders from the police, fire and medical response departments were also taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure, but none had shown symptoms of illness.</s>Tragedy unfolded in Amarillo, Texas, on Monday when four children reportedly died from accidental pesticide gas poisoning. In addition, six other people were hospitalized in connection with the unthinkable event. Authorities believe that the poisonous gas was created when someone unwittingly tried to wash away some pesticide that had previously been sprayed under the trailer home with water.

According to Amarillo fire officials, water being mixed with the pesticide resulted in the release of highly-toxic Phosphine gas, which apparently overcame the occupants of the trailer. As Fox News reports, a visitor to the home Monday morning apparently arrived to find everyone inside sick, and that person called 911. When first responders arrived at around 5:00 a.m., they thought that they were dealing with a case of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Further investigation resulted in the discovery of the pesticide gas, which is believed to have killed the four Texas children.

Amarillo fire Capt. Larry Davis released a statement regarding the tragedy, telling the media and public that one of the four children died at the scene, while three others passed away at a local hospital. With regard to the other six victims of the pesticide gas poisoning, earlier Monday they were reportedly “not out of the woods yet.”

By Monday evening, however, the Amarillo-Globe News reported that five of the Texas pesticide gas poisoning victims have been upgraded to stable condition. The sixth was reportedly transported to a medical facility in Lubbock.

Investigators say that they are unsure how long the four deceased children, as well as the rest of the occupants of the trailer, were exposed to the deadly pesticide gas before help arrived. Symptoms of inhaling Phosphine gas include respiratory failure and even the filling of the lungs with fluid, otherwise known as pulmonary edema.

Initially, authorities did not release information about the four children who died as a result of the Texas pesticide poisoning incident. However, it has since been reported that the four Texas children who died are among eight siblings who lived in the trailer. The names of the deceased children have not been made available.

According to the fire department, the aluminum phosphide-containing pesticide has been was identified as Weevil-Cide, used to “protect against the most destructive pests, such as grain-boring insects, moths, weevils, beetles, and burrowing rodents.”

The product was apparently sprayed by a resident of the home, not a professional company, and when it mixed with water, the effects were disastrous. At least one of the home’s occupants is believed to have crawled under the trailer in an attempt to “rinse off” some of the excess chemical, accidentally triggering the deadly reaction that spawned the poison pesticide gas.

It is unknown whether Monday’s victims owned or rented the Texas home.

In addition to the four children that died and six additional victims in the pesticide gas poisoning, several first-responders responders also received medical checkups following the exposure to the deadly gas. Those first responders included two police officers, seven firefighters and an employee of American Medical Response.

Investigators say that the none of the responding personnel showed symptoms of Phosphine gas poisoning, but were taken to a local hospital out of an abundance of caution. All were reportedly cleared by medical personnel and not expected to have suffered any adverse effects from their exposure to the deadly pesticide.

Investigators, believe that the four Texas children who died on Monday were victims of exposure to the pesticide gas poison, however official causes of death for the victims have not yet been determined and are not expected for at least several days.

While the poisoning of the Texas children who died from apparent pesticide gas exposure is believed to be accidental, the devastating incident is being investigated by the AFD HazMat team and the APD’s Special Crimes unit.

***Update: The Daily Mail reports that the names of the four children who died in the Texas pesticide gas poisoning have been released; 7-year-old Felipe Balderas, 9-year-old Johnnie Balderas, 11-year-old Josue Balderas, and 17-year-old Yasmeen Balderas.***</s>Four children in an Amarillo, Texas, home were killed Monday when a poisonous gas was created when someone mixed water with a pesticide that had been placed underneath their home.

The children, along with six others, were sickened when they were exposed to phosphine gas. The gas is believed to have been created when water was doused on a "restricted use” chemical -- aluminium phosphide -- that had been sprayed under the home to kill rodents, law enforcement officials said. Apparently, someone in the home complained about the smell of the pesticide, so waster was sprayed on the area, creating the noxious gas.

Ten people were in the home when authorities responded to a call for help from a friend who went to the home Monday morning, according to police.

One child died at the scene and three others died at the hospital. Fire department officials told The Associated Press that the other six people who were in the home are "not out of the woods yet.”</s>Efforts to remove a pesticide from under a house are responsible for killing four children.

Officials in Texas say the children died from gas poisoning believed to have been caused by a pesticide sprayed under their Amarillo home.



Amarillo Fire Department officials say other people who were in the home are "not out of the woods" yet.



Fire officials say a chemical reaction occurred when one person tried to wash off a pesticide that had been sprayed under the house.

Capt. Larry Davis said in a statement Monday that crews responded to a medical call at the home about 5 a.m.

One child died at the scene and three others died at a hospital.

Other family members and first responders are being treated.
In Texas, four children die with an additional six others injured after they are poisoned by phosgene gas sprayed in an inappropriate attempt as a pesticide.