A 19-year-old man has lost his life after inhaling gas from a leaking gas heater, the police have said. 

In a statement this evening, the police said that the young man had lost consciousness shortly before 4:30pm, when the police and members of the Civil Protection Department were called to a residence in Triq Santa Katernina, in Ħal Qormi.   

The police said that from investigations it had transpired that the man had lost consciousness after inhaling gas from a heater. 

He was administered first aid by a medical team, but died shortly after at Mater Dei Hospital. 

A magisterial inquiry led by Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras has been appointed, as police continue with their investigations.