Mystery As Men Die In Idling Car Outside Police Office

Story ByJohn FengSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyAsia Wire Report

Video Credit: AsiaWire

Authorities have warned of the dangers of remaining in idling vehicles for long periods after two men were found dead in mysterious circumstances in a police office car park.

The two male victims were found lifeless in the driver’s seat and front passenger seat of a black Kia SUV, which had been left running outside the office of the Zhongfang County Traffic Management Bureau in Central China’s Hunan Province.

They are believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the idling vehicle after they rolled up their windows and slept inside the air-conditioning Kia on 25th June.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

As midday temperatures reached highs of 32 degrees Celsius, the men napped and slowly suffocated to death in their sleep as the odourless gas seeped into the car.

Footage from the police car park shows the two lifeless victim in the Kia as officers surround the vehicle.

The Zhongfang Public Security Bureau said it was still investigating the case and did not reveal the identities of the victims.

It is therefore unclear whether the two men were officers employed at the Traffic Management Bureau.

The authorities have urged members of the public not to sleep in idling cars for long periods.

While death by carbon monoxide poisoning in cars is rare and owners are generally only at risk if idling in enclosed spaces such as a garage, old or faulty exhausts can cause toxic fumes to leak into the vehicle.

A 2018 New York Times report found that at least 28 deaths and 45 injuries were linked to carbon monoxide poisoning from idling cars in the United States between 2006 and 2018.

The list included Florida homeowner Fred Schaub, 91, who died in his bed after fumes from the keyless-ignition Toyota RAV4 idling in his garage flooded his home as he slept.

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