Partygoers Jump to Their Deaths Into Pool Filled With Dry Ice at Influencer's Birthday in Shocking Video

Three people have been killed in Moscow after dry ice was poured into a swimming pool at a birthday party.

Instagram influencer Yekaterina Didenko was celebrating her 29th birthday at an indoor pool complex, when partygoers were reportedly trying to create a visual effect by pouring 55lbs of dry ice into the water.

Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide, which is non-toxic in low levels; but because it is heavier a gas, built-up amounts in low-ventilated areas can displace the oxygen — with fatal consequences.

Video of the ill-advised stunt shows partygoers obliviously jumping to their deaths into the poisonous pool — reportedly including the influencer's own 32-year-old husband, Valentin Didenko. The Instagrammer, who boasts 1.5million followers, is said to have shared a video telling fans her husband had been rushed to hospital.

As the camera pans around the party, her friends can all be seen wearing white coveralls and goggles, squealing with excitement as they tip a cooler full of the dry ice into the pool.

Instantly the surface of the water is covered in a thick white vapor, and guests begin jumping into it. The first person into the pool can be seen flailing his arms; whether he is aware of how much trouble he is in cannot be determined, as the clip suddenly ends.

As the human body inhales carbon dioxide rather than oxygen, symptoms such as rapid heart rate, clumsiness and fatigue quickly set in, followed by nausea, vomiting, collapse, convulsions, coma — and death. Symptoms progress much quicker if the body exerts physical effort — such as thrashing about in a pool.

Several people were hospitalized after the incident, while three were confirmed dead. The Russian Investigative Committee has reportedly opened a criminal investigation.

Didenko, a mother-of two, is a qualified pharmacist who shares medicine money-saving tips on Instagram.

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