Entire family dies due to tragic food storage mistake

Gourmandize

A Russian family has been wiped out in one fell swoop, in a  tragedy that sounds like something from a horror story.

Unfortunately, the cause of their demise is totally real and frighteningly commonplace.

The family from Laishevo, near Kazan stored their potatoes in the basement and, without realizing that they had rotted and were releasing highly toxic gasses, the father- Mikhail Chelyshev, 42 - went down to get some.

Overcome with the toxic fumes, he fainted in the cellar and police believe he died shortly after. Worried at her husband's prolonged absence, the mother -Anastasia Chelysheva, 38- went into the cellar to investigate, and suffered the exact same fate.

Tragically, their 18 year old son Gregory Chelysheva also entered the cellar to help them, and also succumbed to the fumes.

Gregory's Grandmother, 68 year old Iraida first called a neighbor to say that something was wrong, but before anybody could come to help her, she  also entered the cellar and was overcome. 

The only surviving member of the family, 8 year old Maria appears to have survived because her grandmother left the door ajar to the cellar and enough toxic gas escaped before she was exposed. 

The now orphaned girl is reportedly inconsolable after having discovered her entire family dead, all within a terribly short space of time. 

Want to know more about potato toxicity? 

Potatoes contain glycoalkaloids, a compound that makes them slightly toxic by nature. Cooking  usually makes them perfectly safe, but when they are decomposed they are so toxic that the gas they give off is dangerous.

In this highly unusual case, the space the potatoes were stored in was sealed and ventilated, which allowed the gas levels to rise to such dangerous levels. 

The U.S. National Toxicology Program suggests that the average American consumes at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes, and the toxic dose is several times this, depending on body weight.