Teachers and business owner who died of carbon monoxide poisoning at Mexico City Airbnb brought light to those around them, families say
Maria Elena Salas was a teacher in Mexico City
The death of a woman in Mexico City who died of carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at an Airbnb says a lot about what happens to someone who leaves a profession because of stress, says her family and others who knew her.
Maria Elena Salas was a teacher in Mexico City, and was killed on Christmas Eve last year by carbon monoxide poisoning, according to her family. The death was not unexpected, but the fact it occurred at a hotel was not.
The family contacted me, as they asked for my help in helping them get the answers they wanted to hear in this case, her family says. I don’t have answers to their questions but I believe they deserve answers, and they’re going to get them.
Maria Elena Salas was 23. She was married, with two children and was a teacher living in Mexico City.
Last year, after about a month of suffering from a series of health problems and a new work experience, Maria Elena fell ill at home.
She worked as an elementary school teacher.
She had several issues with her health including:
Anemia
Heartburn
Heart problems
The carbon monoxide poisoning killed her on Christmas Eve last year.
Many hotels are not aware of their carbon monoxide hazards.
On the day she died, she woke up around 6 a.m. and went to teach in a local school. She had classes until 8 p.m., with her last class ending about 8:45 p.m. Her body was found in her classroom.
The Mexico City Government has a list of hotels that have dangerous carbon monoxide levels inside. Many hotels are not aware of their carbon monoxide hazards because they do not check their own carbon monoxide levels, says Maria Elena’s brother.
“It’s a mistake that we believe we have done is that we believed that carbon monoxide stayed outside, it went away,” she told me.
“We were really confused about it.”
Her brother called the school and asked them for help.
The day Maria Elena died, she was due to go teach a class on an upcoming Sunday,