Death happens ALL the time, but a death like this one is such a sad occurrence because it was completely needless and could have been so simply avoided...
one doesnt get to be a technician without knowing about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
we hear of deaths ALL the time from carbon monoxide poisoning, and there ARE rules to follow to prevent it from happening.... and by following the safety guidelines, it is 100% preventable.
what no law, training or rule can do is make people follow the rules... because carbon monoxide is odorless and invisible, and its presence can go undetected undetected until its too late, too many people think the warnings and procedures to follow are over-exaggerated... BUT THEY ARE NOT!!!
there has been discussions on this site about the dangers of CO poisoning (and numerous other sites the world over) and even though those discussions are now just history, the content and warnings within them will be as factual at the end of time as what they were when written.... and ANYONE who feels they will be able to tell when CO poison is creeping up on them are only victims that still have a chance to survive to old age.
its a rare instance where someone survives CO poisoning, and even more rare that someone escapes without some degree of brain damage... so whats the point in wanting to survive the poisoning if you could?
how "the exhaust found its way in" to cause the death of the technician as described is not left to ponder, but it was sucked in by the intake of the running engine.... it was was undoubtedly CO poisoning that got him, but which would have been made worse by the consumption of the oxygen as it was ingested into the engine... once the O2 is down to a minimum, the CO output by the engine increases exponentially, and the atmosphere very quickly turns deadly....
the marine technician forgot to pay attention to his chance to live to a ripe old age lost his life, but for the rest of us, we still have that chance to heed the warnings THAT WE HAVE ALL HEARD, and to take them as seriously as death itself.... and live accordingly.