New information on the case of a father and his three children suffocating while sleeping in a car with the air conditioner on

On the morning of June 6, information from the 108 Military Central Hospital ( Hanoi ) said that the health of the father and son in Hai Phong who suffocated in a car has stabilized and they are preparing to be discharged.

These are two patients transferred from Kien An Hospital ( Hai Phong ), in a state of respiratory failure after sleeping in a car during a power outage.

The health of the father and son in Hai Phong has stabilized. Photo: Provided by the hospital

According to information provided by the family, when the house lost power, the father and his three sons from Hai Phong started the engine and turned on the air conditioner of their car in the garage to sleep to avoid the heat.

When the family discovered it, the eldest daughter had died of suffocation. The father and second daughter were in a coma and were given emergency treatment at Kien An Hospital (Hai Phong), then transferred to 108 Military Central Hospital in a state of respiratory failure and circulatory collapse requiring a ventilator and vasopressors.

After more than 1 day of intensive resuscitation, the general condition of father and son has improved, consciousness is clear, the endotracheal tube has been removed, and vasopressor drugs have been stopped.

According to Dr. Le Lan Phuong, Director of the Intensive Care Center (108 Central Military Hospital), turning on the car's air conditioner to sleep while closing the car doors will produce a large amount of CO and CO2 gas into the surrounding environment.

This gas continues to be sucked into the air conditioner, causing people sleeping in the car to suffocate. Victims will lose consciousness, fall into a coma and die if not treated promptly.

Another risk that can occur is if the car doors are closed while the car is stopped for too long, especially in hot weather, it can cause the car to run out of fuel and stop working, especially when the inside air mode is on.

At that time, the air in the car will not be able to exchange with the outside and the temperature will increase, causing people in the car to lack oxygen and suffer heat shock, death if not supported promptly.

According to Dr. Lan, the chance of survival of a suffocation victim depends on the time it takes to get to the hospital. Therefore, when seeing someone suffocating, it is necessary to open all the doors to let air in and immediately take the victim out of the toxic gas area, quickly take them to the hospital for emergency treatment, and limit the consequences.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/suc-khoe/thong-tin-moi-vu-3-bo-con-ngat-khi-luc-ngu-trong-xe-oto-no-may-bat-dieu-hoa-20230606103107327.htm