A man triggered panic in a northern Japanese city Thursday when he killed himself by mixing detergents in his house, releasing toxic fumes that drove 350 people from their homes - the latest in a series of such suicides.
The panic in Otaru came just hours after national police urged Internet providers to crack down on Web sites that have spurred a wave of detergent-related suicides. Some 50 people have reportedly killed themselves over the past month in Japan by mixing household chemicals to produce hydrogen sulfide.
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©Kyodo News / AP Photo
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Police officers in protective gear enter an apartment in Konan, southern Japan Thursday, April 24, 2008. A Japanese girl gassed herself to death by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser, releasing fumes that sickened 90 people in her apartment house, police said Thursday as they grappled with a spate of similar suicides.
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