Carbon monoxide inside Airbnb rentals has claimed 19 lives since accommodation ... trends now

Nearly 20 people have died in recent years from carbon monoxide while staying in Airbnb rentals, and heartbroken families say the company hasn't addressed the issue. 

'And that's terrible that Airbnb, knowing exactly what's happening, they haven't done anything to stop it,' Rosa Elena Martinez told NBC News. 

Her son, Jaime Mejiam, is one of the 19 who died since 2013 from carbon monoxide while staying at short-term rentals through Airbnb across the globe. The gas is known as a silent killer as it's odorless. 

In 2014, Airbnb said that they would 'require' all of their hosts to install carbon monoxide detectors. This mandate has yet to take place and more lives have been lost.

But, families say that hasn't happened and three lawsuits have been filed over the situation. They called for Airbnb to mandate all homes on their site must be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors. 

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Airbnb did not respond to Dailymail.com requests for comment in time for this report. 

NBC noted Airbnb issued statements after seven of the deaths, and in five said it was pay for the costs associated or had removed the listings from the site. 

'The safety of our community is a top priority, incidents on Airbnb are exceptionally rare and we take action when a concern is reported to us,' an Airbnb official told the outlet. 

One of the most recent victims, Mejia, 24, lost his life to the toxic gas after he moved from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2022. 

Mejia was traveling on a Fulbright scholarship to study Indigenous communities and was on a tight budget, so he found an affordable Airbnb to stay. 

On October 5, 2022, Mejia was found dead in the shower of his Airbnb after he turned on the heater that was located inside the bathroom to warm up the water.

According to a wrongful death lawsuit against Airbnb from Mejia's family, his naked body was found face up with the water still running the following day. 

'Due to an improperly installed and damaged exhaust duct, the water heater began emitting dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide into the bathroom, slowly killing him,' the lawsuit said. 

An investigation by the Rio de Janeiro police revealed that the carbon monoxide levels that surrounded Mejia at the time were four times the 'maximum acceptable levels.' They also found that the rental apartment did not have any detectors to warn him of the imminent danger. 

After their family member's death, Mejia's loved ones said that Airbnb never reached out to them. It also took a total of 10 days to have his body go through the repatriation process before his body was brought back to the US. 

'Unfortunately he has not been the first and he will not be the last, and other families have to go through the same experience,' Martinez told NBC News.