A chemistry student died in a shocking accident after a piece of chewing gum reportedly exploded in his mouth during a dangerous mix-up with chemicals.
Vladimir Likhonos, a 25-year-old student from Ukraine, had been working with explosive substances when the horrifying incident happened. According to reports from the time, Likhonos had a habit of coating his chewing gum in citric acid — the compound that gives lemons their sour taste — to make the flavor stronger.
But on the day of the tragedy in 2009, investigators believe he accidentally grabbed the wrong substance.
Instead of citric acid, Likhonos reportedly coated the gum with a highly explosive chemical powder.
Moments after putting the gum back into his mouth, the substance detonated. The explosion caused catastrophic injuries, tearing off his jaw and the lower portion of his face.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene but were unable to save him due to the severity of his injuries.
Police spokesperson Elvira Biganova later told reporters that investigators found roughly 100 grams of a suspected explosive substance on a table where Likhonos had been working. The powder reportedly looked very similar to citric acid.
“Anybody could have mixed them up,” Biganova said at the time.
The blast scene was so disturbing that even experienced officers were shaken by what they discovered.
“Even some of our seasoned officers, who have seen a thing or two, were badly shaken by what they found,” Biganova added.
Authorities called in a bomb disposal team after specialists determined the chemical material was too dangerous to move safely. Some local reports suggested the substance may have been several times more powerful than TNT, although those claims have never been fully confirmed.
Investigators believe the explosion happened instantly when the gum was placed in Likhonos’ mouth.
There were conflicting reports about where the experiment was taking place. Some accounts suggested the incident happened at a university laboratory where Likhonos had been studying, while others indicated he may have already been expelled and was conducting experiments at home.
Irina Lisovskaya, the deputy dean of the university’s chemical engineering faculty, later said Likhonos had been a strong chemistry student but struggled in other areas.
“He got an A in chemistry, but his grades in other subjects were average,” she said. “He was not a poor student, but he never graduated because he could not defend his diploma thesis and was expelled the year before.”