Deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning
Posted on September 6, 2012, Thursday
Crime Scene Unit vehicle seen in front of the department store. – AZIZ IDRIS
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Excess inhalation of carbon monoxide has been attributed by pathologists as the cause for the death of a local man and woman as their lifeless bodies were found inside a car at the basement car park of a shopping complex in Jalan Muara Tuesday night, Borneo Bulletin reported.
The police have ruled out any foul play.
A police spokesperson said the Berakas Police Station received a distress call at 7.22pm Tuesday from a security personnel on duty who discovered the unconscious duo inside a saloon car parked at the lower basement of the shopping complex.
Paramedics at the scene pronounced the man, 24, and woman, 22, dead. The area was cordoned off by the Crime Scene Unit (CSU) of the Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) for investigations.
A post-mortem conducted at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital later confirmed that carbon monoxide poisoning caused the deaths.
The police added that they found traces of green-coloured liquid at the front area of the car, believed to be the vehicle’s ‘air coolant radiator’ as well as traces of black-coloured liquid under the car.
Based on initial findings of their examination made on the bodies, eyewitness accounts and CCTV recordings at the scene, the police said no foul play was involved in the death of the duo.
It was, however, unclear as to how long they were inside the vehicle and if the vehicle’s engine was running as investigations are still being carried out.
The deceased were reported to be students from a nearby technical college.
Carbon monoxide poisoning in vehicles is not uncommon. Several similar incidents in other parts of the world have led to fatalities but no such incidents have been reported in the Sultanate until last Tuesday.
Health experts told the Borneo Bulletin yesterday that sitting inside a vehicle with its engine running for prolonged periods at a confined or poorly ventilated area such as closed home garages may prove fatal as people inside the vehicle can’t escape from inhaling the deadly carbon monoxide.
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