Hundreds flee homes as gas suicide spate continues

About 350 people fled their homes in northern Japan yesterday to escape poisonous fumes released by a neighbor who killed himself by mixing detergent and other chemicals -- the latest in a series of such suicides.

The panic in Otaru came just hours after national police urged Internet providers to crack down on websites spurring a wave of detergent-related suicides in which 50 people have reportedly died in the past month.

The rash of such suicides in Japan, which already has one of the world's highest suicide rates, has triggered widespread concern because the powerful fumes can seriously harm bystanders and rescuers.