Three Die at Party for Instagram Influencer After Dry Ice Is Poured Into Pool for 'Visual Effects'

Three people have died and seven more were injured due to being poisoned at the birthday party of an Instagram influencer. It is believed to be from dry ice thrown into the pool, which caused the poisoning after having been used to create visual effects.

Russian influencer Ekaterina Didenko was hosting the party when disaster struck, with the dry ice mixing with the pool water. The victims include friends Natalia Monakova and Yuri Alferov, both 25, as well as Didenko’s husband, Valentin (Valya) Didenko, 32. The influencer took to Instagram, posting to her one million followers in order to confirm their deaths, which were caused by carbon dioxide poisoning. Other injured guests had chemical burns.

Initially, Didenko was posting from hospital, reporting that her husband was in intensive care, seemingly unaware he had passed away. A mother of two, she says her daughter has been asking for her father. It is believed her husband was the one who poured the dry ice into the pool with the intention of creating a visual effect.

Dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) creates heavy vapor when it meets water, but particularly in poorly ventilated areas, such vapor can cause high carbon dioxide levels in blood.

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A 28-year-old self-taught photographer, Jack Alexander specialises in intimate portraits with musicians, actors, and models.

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62 Comments

Why is this garbage on this site? What's the photography angle? BTS?

I know I'm part of the problem by commenting, but for FUCK sake, why did this site flood the good content with absolute usless garbage?

EDIT: don't try and pretend this is a PSA. this is a shock factor piece that deserve no recognition. A PSA adds information and value. A note at what is a chemical chart (required to be with any chemicals sold...), how to read it, example of common chemicals found on set, etc... THAT would have been a PSA.

This is just a lazy copy-pasting job of a shock article.

Maybe so other DA's wouldn't do stupid stuff like this? Influencer's accidentally killing themselves while photographing themselves is a timely topic.

I've not used dry ice before, but might in the future, I guess it's handy to know that breathing it in will slowly suffocate you.

Get a fog machine and read the instructions. It's much safer.

but for that you can just run your fog from a fog machine through a cooler with dry ice in it, cooling the fog, but not creating potentially harmful gas.

Knowledge is not part of IG users.

Would you use a chemical without reading the damn chart?

Consider it a PSA (cautionary tale) for those who in seeking to make cool fog effects do not consider the chemical composition of what they make. How many photographers have no clue that dry ice makes carbon dioxide and that proper ventilation is essential? Out of curiosity, exactly how many dead people does it take before something makes the transition from "useless garbage" to helpful and potentially life-saving information?

I didn't know dry age could be so dangerous. Now I do.

The article isn't written as a PSA. It creates no added value other than shock factor.

A better form of this PSA could have been a list of common chemical used on set and look at the warnings with examples (like this one) to emphasize the danger.

Why r u so mad. Alot of people here probably use dry ice and work with influencers anywat

Its to show the dangers of being an "influencers". I think its relevant because alot of people here seem to be seeking Instagram fame through this site. So its almost like a little...dont be so thirsty and careless that you do something like this for attention.

Because someone will eventually try a photoshoot in a low vent space with dry ice?

I'd put this in the same category as warning about taking photos on railway tracks, or using pyro in inappropriate locations. This is what can happen if you aren't careful while trying to get an effect.

I knew dry ice was potentially dangerous, because I know it's basically CO2. But I didn't know it was this dangerous, and when I use it in the future (and I've been thinking about it) I'll be extra sure to read up on all the safety precautions. So I think this is completely legit for fstoppers to publish. It has certainly been useful for me.

Heres an angle: I had thought about using dry ice to create low fog effects for photos. I would be naturally cautious and safe, because I know dry ice "burns" are pretty awful, but was not aware of the carbon poisoning. This information, even though it is tabloid garbage, will have helped me plan future shoots.

And you didn't learn what you should have learned from this headline: READ THE CHEMICAL LABELS.

Any glance at the label would tell you that dry ice is solidified CO2. that alone should ring bells...

But not a single person here saying "I learned something!1!" actually learned how to handle chemicals from this.

I didn't say I "learned something" but I literally said it "will have helped me" personally. Which is arguably similar enough.

With the amount of effort you put in to bitch about an actual contributor, you could've moved on and left nice, productive comments on other posts. But hey, speaking of click baity posts, you sure did a good job of getting my attention, good job.

If the effort in the comment is higher than the article, maybe it's not the comments the issue?

You read the article title before clicking, I assume. What exactly compelled you to click?

Are kids still saying take a chill pill? Seriously, most see this post and take it or leave it, you've added a whole new level of concern.

Influencers are great they say. Okay!

were they imitating this:
https://youtu.be/p-EhBnZDnMg?t=168

guess quest for views can be deadly.

That's really sad news. What seemed like an innocent attempt to take a cool photo killed 3 people.

I can't wait until they take some great Instagram photos on the tracks.

I was honestly not aware that dry ice could have such an effect. I usually cringe when reading people got a carbon monoxide poisoning when having a fire indoor. This should be common knowledge right now that this is bad. But for dry ice I would probably not have thought about it. I would expect that the manual said something about it. The only "positive" side of this story might be that it will limit such a thing from happening again. But at what cost ... :(

There is a warning on packages for dry ice and derivatives.... at least in Canada

Your milk comes in bags though, your packaging is weird.

Ya, putting warnings on things to stop stupid ppl from accidentally killing themselves... weird. :)

Sad...and hate to kick anyone while they are down.

But how disconnected is she....posting to her million followers FROM the hospital completely unaware that her own husband has died?

Yeah, that's another terrifying part. People died, others are hospitalized and she's so obsessed with her Insta that it even enters her mind to post is beyond anything I could fathom. It shows just how twisted her mind is that EVERYTHING revolves around her followers

I think it's possible to understand it with a slight reframing. She's terrified and alone, her husband is in intensive care, and she wants support. If she's used to oversharing to her followers, I can see why she'd turn that way.

I can understand why she did it, but that changes nothing on how twisted it is. She's going to a faceless group with very limited ability to support and comfort.

Safe to say you've thrown the first stone more than once. 😉

I’m sure you’re the same, but I’ve got friends on Insta who literally video every single part of their day. From the moment they wake up to the moment they sleep they are videoing themselves and/or their day. I’ve stopped hanging out with most of them coz you can’t hold a conversation for more than a few minutes before the phone comes out and the videos start. It’s a sickness

Yes sir it is a sickness and our youth sucks it up like candy. And we wonder what the fu** is wrong with our society. Thank you silicone valley for killing our kids, love ya.... All the reasons I do not allow my two sons on social media or watch those stupid You Tube videos. Rather be a ass hole father then bury my teenage sons from doing something stupid they saw on social media.

I had no idea that dry ice is THIS dangerous. Killing people so quick. I'm glad this was posted as a preemptive measure for any one else getting a similar idea for some pics.

Dry ice is not dangerous.

Stupidity is.

Who ever would have known that a lack of oxygen would kill you. Sometime stupidity gets what it deserves.

True That....

carbon DIoxide poisoning????? did i just read that?

Other causes of carbon dioxide intoxication have been identified as well, such as dry ice. Dry ice undergoes sublimation (direct conversion from a solid state into a gas), and if it is warmed rapidly, large amounts of CO2 are generated, which is especially dangerous in closed environments [7–9].Apr 4, 2017
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5380556/
Carbon dioxide poisoning: a literature review of an often ...

Being cute or politically correct will not protect you. Reality kills.

Learn what you are doing before you die.

I think the world is ready for an influencer slasher/zombie flick...

That's why you need to study science at school.

Dry ice = frozen CO2. It gives cold CO2 gas that stays on the ground, because it's heavier than air, so if you're in a pool with only head above water, you breathe it. And since you need O2 to live...

This all is common science knowledge.
If anyone at the party knew it, he'd have be careful enough to ring an alarm and save these 3 people.

No sorry, one does not need to go to college to study dry ice for it is used in 8th grade science and the teachers explain the hazards of Co2. Maybe today's students should listen to the teacher rather than learning from YouTube idiot's. Just saying.

Thanks for posting this.

Yes. Thank you

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