Japan detergent suicide sparks panic

The panic in Otaru came just hours after national police urged Internet providers to crack down on Web sites spurring a wave of detergent-related suicides that have reported killed 50 people in the past month.

The rash of such suicides in Japan — which already has one of the world's highest suicide rates — has triggered widespread concern because the powerful fumes can seriously harm bystanders and rescuers.

In Otaru, on the northern island of Hokkaido, a 24-year-old man mixed the chemicals in his house after midnight. He died, and the gas — hydrogen sulfide — escaped his home, and neighbors were alerted by the smell, a Hokkaido police official said.

The man's 58-year-old mother, who was apparently overcome by the fumes, was found unconscious nearby and was taken to hospital. Police said she was recovering.

A total of about 350 neighbors fled to a nearby school playground for about two hours, until the fumes dispersed, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department protocol.