Did carbon monoxide from a barbecue kill a camper at Antilliaanse Feesten?

Carbon monoxide, or CO, forms when carbon-containing fuels such as charcoal, wood, gas or petrol burn without enough oxygen. Belgium’s Antigifcentrum — Centre Antipoisons in French — describes it as a colourless, odourless and potentially fatal gas. People cannot reliably see, smell or taste the danger.

A barbecue does not become safe merely because the visible flames have disappeared. The Antigifcentrum warns that smouldering charcoal can produce substantial quantities of CO. In a tent, the gas can accumulate while the available oxygen falls. Opening a flap or relying on a tent’s ventilation panels is not a safety measure; the appliance and its coals must remain completely outside and away from sleeping areas.

Early symptoms can include headache, dizziness, nausea, unusual tiredness, confusion or vomiting. These signs are easily mistaken at a festival for dehydration, lack of sleep or the effects of alcohol. If several people in the same shelter develop similar symptoms, or someone becomes unexpectedly drowsy or unconscious near a combustion appliance, everyone should move into fresh air and treat the situation as a possible CO emergency.

The Antigifcentrum’s official guidance says to call Belgium’s emergency number 112 immediately in a suspected CO poisoning. Do not enter an enclosed space to retrieve an unconscious person if doing so could expose you to the gas. From a safe position, tell the operator where you are, whether anyone is unconscious and that carbon monoxide may be involved. At a festival, alert campsite stewards or the medical post as well, but do not let that delay the 112 call.

Useful wording is “Ik vermoed CO-vergiftiging” in Dutch or “Je soupçonne une intoxication au monoxyde de carbone” in French. International visitors can say “suspected carbon-monoxide poisoning” and give the festival name, campsite zone, gate or numbered pitch. The 112 BE app, provided through Belgium’s emergency services, can help transmit a caller’s location, but it is sensible to download and configure it before travelling rather than during an emergency.

The Poison Centre’s general number, 070 245 245, handles many accidental exposures. Its website specifically directs people to 112 instead when a situation may be life-threatening or involves suspected CO poisoning. That is the important Belgian institutional distinction: for this danger, emergency medical response comes first.

Antilliaanse Feesten has brought Caribbean, Latin and Afro music to Hoogstraten since 1983. Its 2026 programme ran from 6 to 8 August, and the campsite is a central part of the event’s social character. The death does not alter that cultural identity, but it exposes a recurring risk wherever festival weather turns cold or wet and campers improvise warmth.

The hazard is broader than charcoal grills. Camping stoves, gas burners, portable heaters and generators can all produce carbon monoxide when fuels burn in enclosed or poorly ventilated places. A tent’s thin fabric does not make it equivalent to open air. Awnings, gazebos with closed sides, car boots and vans can also trap combustion gases.

For organisers, the case raises practical questions about how clearly campsite rules explain CO hazards, whether warnings reach visitors in multiple languages and how staff respond when cooking equipment is seen near sleeping areas. For campers, the safer answers are mundane but effective: bring an adequately rated sleeping bag, dry layers and an insulated mat; cook only in permitted outdoor areas; extinguish equipment there; and leave it outside until fully cold.

The Antwerp prosecutor’s toxicology findings remain the next evidential step. Until those results are released, the precise medical chain leading to the man’s death should not be stated as definitively established. The prevention message, however, does not depend on that final report: no fuel-burning barbecue or stove is safe inside a tent.