A 17-year-old boy died on Sunday evening after being found unconscious in a schoolyard in Paphos, police said on Monday.

Paphos police assistant operations director Michalis Nikolaou said the boy had, according to witness testimony, “allegedly inhaled gas from a can or spray … in the presence of his peers”.

The boy reportedly fainted in front of his friends, with an ambulance arriving on the scene at around 7pm to take him to hospital.

However, Nikolaou said, “despite doctors’ efforts to revive him, this was not possible”.

He added that investigations into the matter are ongoing.

Later on Monday morning, police announced that they had arrested four people, all aged 17, in connection with the boy’s death.

They also said they had found vials used to fill cigarette lighters on the school’s roof, adding weight to the theory that the boy had inhaled some form of gas before falling unconscious.

The police are now investigating whether the boy inhaled the substance or substances of his own volition, or whether any or all of the four arrested are responsible.

Nikolaou said the four are expected to be charged in writing and released, with the case file to be forwarded to the legal service once investigations into the matter have been completed.

The legal service will then decide whether cases will be brought against any of the four.

Inhaling gases, solvents, and aerosols is a method of getting high, though, as the United Kingdom’s national drug advisory service Talk to Frank writes, “it is difficult to control the dose, and all methods are potentially fatal”.