Bosnian police said eight young men and women died in a hut in southwestern Bosnia, apparently from carbon monoxide poisoning during a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Eight young men and women died in a hut in southwestern Bosnia, apparently due to carbon monoxide poisoning during a New Year’s Eve celebration, police said Friday.

A local police spokeswoman, Martina Medic, told the Associated Press that the police responded to a call around ten o’clock in the morning and went to a house in Trippestovo, where many of the dead were found. The village is located 150 kilometers (90) southwest of the capital, Sarajevo.

Regional Police Commissioner Milan Gallic later told the station that 1 the victims were local residents, four men and four women, between the ages of 18 and 20.

“They are probably suffocating, but more information will be available after the investigation,” Galic said.

The municipality of Posusje, where the village is located, in a Facebook post “lost eight young people” and urged local cafes and restaurants to close in honor of the victims. Senior officials from Bosnia and Croatia offered their condolences to their families.

Bosnian and Croatian media said the eight were high school and university students who died from a carbon monoxide leak from a generator they used to heat while celebrating New Year’s Eve in a hut.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that can cause sudden illness and death.