- Published: 11/10/2012 at 06:13 PM
- Writer: Online Reporters
CBC News reported on Thursday that coroner Renee Roussel told Radio-Canada the concentration of the chemical DEET, a primary ingredient in insect repellent, in the sisters' systems wasn't sufficient to be fatal.
The claim contradicts the conclusion of Thai authorities who performed post-mortems on the bodies of Noemi Belanger, 25, and Audrey Belanger, 20, shortly after the sisters were found on June 15 by hotel staff.
A pathologist determined the women likely ingested DEET in a euphoria-inducing cocktail that is popular among youth in Thailand.
The sisters were students at Laval University in Quebec City. They worked at their father's grocery store in their home town of Pohenegamook, about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.
They had arrived on Phi Phi Island and were last seen partying with two Brazilian friends in the early morning of June 13.
Investigators said there were no signs of foul play in their hotel room, but there was evidence that the women may have suffered some kind of toxic reaction. Officials speculated the women probably died of food poisoning.
However, CBC News reported that Dr Rene Blais of Quebec's poison control centre said the DEET concentration reported by the Thai pathologist does not meet the concentration level that that would be toxic, "let alone a concentration that would be fatal".
It's still unclear what caused their deaths if it wasn't DEET poisoning.
Secondary autopsies were conducted in Montreal, but the results haven't been released.
Thai investigators haven't closed the case. They submitted their investigation report to the Canadian embassy in Thailand without making the findings public.
Pol Col Boontawee Toraksa, the then deputy commander of the Krabi provincial police, said on June 28 that Ramathibodi Hospital had sent an initial result of its autopsy to him. The autopsy found no traces of drugs in the sisters' bodies.
Share your thoughts
- Discussion 1 : 15/10/2012 at 07:54 AM
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D1 : dickemery .. there is a very good reason that the Phuket police did not investigate the case and that is that Phi Phi is under the jurisdiction of Krabi.
D8 : coolit sorry mate but Thailand appear to be safer than where you are coming from ... been here for more than 20 years and do not know of anybody that have been poisoned.
Many here always moan about the lack out coroners reports when farangs die in Thailand...now we have a Canadian, Quebec Coroner that states that the DEET found in the sisters would not have been sufficient to kill them...but the Coroner does not enlighten us in what the reason for the deaths then was...so it this another poor Coroner or is it only allowed to do "bashing of Thais ?"
- Discussion 2 : 12/10/2012 at 03:06 AM
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onlyasking, discussion 4, indeed the Thai police last week claimed that they had closed the case after the parents requested for no further action to be taken. Now the BP claims that "Thai investigators haven't closed the case." As seems standard procedure in Thailand, everything and everyone is contradicting each other - and themselves. Amazing indeed.
- Discussion 3 : 12/10/2012 at 01:53 AM
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Fundeena is correct, and it happens over and over agsin and again, do not leave your bottled water in the room open and return and drink it, and do not drink the water or other in the room period, this is a horrible story for these sisters on an innocent holiday, there are no words, if they were poisoned outside, then this happens all the time, on the way to the room, innocent drink offered full of pesticides etc...again it happens often.
- Discussion 4 : 12/10/2012 at 01:39 AM
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Some poster a few months ago published a great comparison of the alleged symptoms and documented state of the bodies and with ingesting Methyl Alcohol. Every thing lined up extremely well.
- Discussion 5 : 12/10/2012 at 12:14 AM
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Sounds like a Venom that should be detectable by a competent examiner.
- Discussion 6 : 11/10/2012 at 11:08 PM
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The family may have asked the police to close the case, but the police - or someone - still needs to find out what happen. The reason is an obvious one - to prevent it from happening again.
- Discussion 7 : 11/10/2012 at 10:10 PM
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For once can we please leave this one alone. The parents requested that the reports not to be released. The Thai police closed the case after the parents requested for no further action to be taken. Upon the request the Thai police said its up to the parents or the Canadian embassy to release any further information. If there were any signs that the Thai police tried to cover anything up (in a bad way), do you think the parents and the Canadian embassy would have kept their silence. Lets honour the wish of the parents and refrain from seeking publicity or blaming people. The parents have suffered a great loss. lets not also destroy the only thing they have left, the memories of their children.
- Discussion 8 : 11/10/2012 at 08:03 PM
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What is this untraceable 'poison' killing farangs in Thailand and recently in Vietnam? Inquiring farangs want to know.
- Discussion 9 : 11/10/2012 at 07:58 PM
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Again the world disagrees with the Thai version of events. Speaks Volumes!!
- Discussion 10 : 11/10/2012 at 06:53 PM
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and yet the phuket police have failed to investigate the foteigner man who was last seen with the sisters capture on cctv at the hotel the nite they died ,the police said that he wasnt a suspect in there investigation ?
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