Teens Poisoned by Pesticides at Resort Still Critical

Six weeks ago, the Esmond family's Virgin Islands vacation went horribly wrong when they were exposed to a potentially lethal pesticide at their St. John resort—and they're still recuperating, per a family statement, ABC News reports. The statement notes that teen boys Sean and Ryan Esmond are still critical in a Philly hospital, while parents Stephen Esmond and Theresa Devine are in rehabilitation therapy, the AP reports.

The EPA, Justice Department, and authorities in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are investigating how and why banned methyl bromide was used by the Terminix pest-control company at the Sirenusa resort on St. John. A doctor at UPenn's medical school told the AP that while "meaningful recovery" is still possible for the Esmond boys, "the potential for meaningful survival and living independently is going to become less and less likely" as time passes—it ultimately comes down to how much of the poison they breathed in, and for how long. (More Virgin Islands stories.)