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Two boys were hospitalized in the southwestern Estonian sea resort Parnu after inhaling lighter gas on Monday and they are still in intensive care.
Spokespeople for the West prefecture of the police said the boys remained in Parnu hospital's intensive care unit on Tuesday and their condition was described as extremely serious. The two minors whose age was not disclosed were found at different locations in Parnu town, one by a police patrol and the other by an ambulance responding to a call.
Police have opened a criminal investigation based on the article of the Penal Code dealing with causing of serious damage to health through negligence.
The prefecture said inhalation of lighter gas was a very dangerous social pastime for young people the consequences of which can be irreversible.
Raido Paasma, chief of anesthesiology, emergency and intensive care at Parnu Hospital, said the effect from the inhalation of butane or lighter gas mainly occurred through preventing the acquisition of oxygen from inhaled air and subsequent deprivation of the body of sufficient supply of oxygen, or hypoxia.
Through creating a shortage of oxygen supply in the body butane also damages brain cells and is thus very dangerous to the human body, said Paasma, clinical consultant to the Estonian center for poisoning information.
Lighter gas is freely sold in kiosks and stores in Estonia.