By JO-MARIE BROWN
Rotorua's sulphur fumes are to blame for the death of an Austrian actress who was found on the floor of a motel room in February, but questions remain as to why the gas levels were so high.
Coroner David Dowthwaite yesterday adjourned the inquest into the death of Ellen Umlauf-Rueprecht, aged 74, until September but said there was no doubt she had died from hydrogen sulphide poisoning.
Ellen Umlauf-Rueprecht's body was discovered lying face down on the floor of her Sulphur City Motel room on February 19 by the motel's owner. Constable Steve Sutton told the Rotorua District Court that Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht had probably fainted, hit her head on a nearby chest of draws and fallen into a deep state of unconsciousness with her mouth close to the ground.
"It is my belief that from this position she inhaled the lethal gases that ultimately killed her."
However, Constable Sutton was unable to explain how a toxic level of the gas emitted from Rotorua's geothermal waters came to be present, and Mr Dowthwaite may call further witnesses in September to try to unravel the mystery.
Constable Sutton said Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht's son had visited the Sulphur City Motel shortly after his mother's death and told the owner she was prone to fainting spells.
An Institute of Environmental Science and Research report on hydrogen sulphide was presented as evidence which said if the gas at floor level was toxic then there could have been sufficient levels higher up to have caused dizziness.
Rotorua District Council inspector Peter Brownbridge said Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht's room was tested for hydrogen sulphide on six occasions including the day she died. Each test showed gas levels were normal but Mr Brownbridge said the windows in Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht's room were open and hydrogen sulphide quickly disappeared if the room was ventilated.
The gas was heavier than air so concentration levels would have been higher near the floor.
Sulphur City Motel owner Allan Parry said there had never been any problems with the level of hydrogen sulphide, which gives Rotorua its "rotten eggs" smell, at the motel before and the nearest thermal bore was five motels away.
Rotorua pathologist Dr David Taylor, who conducted a post-mortem examination of Mrs Umlauf-Rueprecht's body, said there might have been past cases of hydrogen sulphide poisoning which had not been diagnosed. While such deaths were rare, Dr Taylor said more research was needed to find out whether toxic levels of gas could build up in the body over time.
A senior ESR scientist was interested in studying the hydrogen sulphide levels in healthy people who worked at Rotorua's geothermal attractions such as the Polynesian Spa and Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, Dr Taylor said.
Mr Dowthwaite adjourned the inquest because a strong public health issue existed and he wanted to consider calling further witnesses to find out why the gas levels were so high.
Toxic fumes blamed for motel death
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