User:Deltajeff/sandbox

= Laishevo Potato Incident = On August 22nd, 2013, four members of the Chelyshev family in Laishevo, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, died from toxic fumes created by the potatoes stored in their basement.

The father, Mikhail, a 42-year old law professor at Kazan Federal University, headed down to the basement to retrieve some potatoes from their cellar without realizing that they had been rotten for some time. He was overcome by the toxic fumes from the potatoes and died. After failing to return, his 38-year old wife Anastasia went down to look for him and likewise collapsed. Their 19-year old son Georgy soon followed, looking for his parents, but was also overcome by the fumes and died. The 68-year old grandmother, Iraida, sensing danger, called a neighbor to warn them about what was going on. Before help could arrive, she herself descended into the basement, leaving the door open behind her. She ended up succumbing to the same fumes. The daughter, Maria, was the only survivor in the family.

Cause
High levels of light exposure in the cellar likely built up excess levels of glycoalkaloid from the overstayed potatoes, particularly of the potato toxin solanine. A buildup of the toxin in the enclosed space likely contributed to their deaths.