NILES, Mich. (AP/CNN) — Authorities say a carbon monoxide leak at a southwest Michigan hotel has killed a teen and sickened about a dozen other people, including other children and several police officers.
WNDU-TV and WSBT-TV report that officials at Lakeland Hospital in Niles confirmed the teen's death Saturday.
The Niles Police Department identified the victim as 13-year-old Bryan Douglas Watts of Niles.
Quality Inn & Suites employees called 911 at around 10 a.m. after seeing six unresponsive children on the pool deck, and all of them between 10 and 14 years old, Niles police said.
"They were trying to get oxygen, but there was no life in those bodies," said witness Francine Saunders. "I mean, absolutely nothing. I couldn't even see them breathing."
Niles Fire Capt. Don Wise says a high level of carbon monoxide was detected in the pool area and lower levels were found in other parts of the hotel.
MLive.com reports Wise said the carbon monoxide buildup was caused by the pool heater.
Police said that, when they arrived, carbon monoxide levels at the hotel were 800 parts per million. US standards for carbon monoxide are 35 parts per million for a one-hour exposure.
Three police officers and two hotel employees also were hospitalized.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that is produced when a fuel is burned. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, it can replace the oxygen in red blood cells and can lead to tissue damage or death.
Niles is just north of the Indiana state line.
Choice Hotels, which owns the Quality brand, released a statement about the incident, calling it "isolated," saying it is "working closely with local officials to manage the situation. ... Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our guests."
