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Danish Navy expert finds no trace of exhaust gas in private submarine

Peter Madsen's explanation for death of Kim Wall contested

A senior Royal Danish Navy officer has disputed Peter Madsen's claim that Swedish journalist Kim Wall's death was caused by exhaust fumes aboard his crowdfunded submarine.

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) reports that, following a study of the submarine, Lieutenant Commander Ditte Dyreborg found no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxide in the air still trapped onboard.

Dyreborg told the court she also failed to find any soot from exhaust gas in the filters on the submarine.

Following his arrest on suspicion of killing the journalist, 47-year-old Madsen settled on the explanation that Wall was hit by a hatch and died from the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning from the sub's exhaust while he was outside on deck.

He then cut up her body and scuttled the sub, prosecutors claim.

The Nautilus, a crowdfunded submarine, sank off the Danish coast on 10 August 2017. Madsen claimed to have dropped off Kim Wall on dry land before the sinking. Prosecutors allege he sank the boat himself.

Ms Wall's dismembered body was later found by police.

In January, police charged the amateur sub-builder with Wall's murder.

Madsen provided the court with a seven-page explanation, along with two drawings, explaining how the accident happened. He described three scenarios of how the valve settings within the submarine might have resulted in Wall's suffocation.

Kim Winther, of the Danish Technological Institute, told the court that in all three scenarios the temperature within the submarine would have risen to more than 70°C within minutes.

The forensics team found no evidence that Wall had been exposed to excessive heat.

The trial, today in its eighth day, is expected to continue until 25 April. ®

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